As you age, your risk of developing osteoporosis and suffering a debilitating hip or spine fracture goes way up — especially if you’re a woman.

That’s why doctors will often order a special type of x-ray called a DEXA scan to measure your bone mineral density or BMD.

But it turns out that’s not the only way to tell if you have weak bones…

In fact, according to researchers from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece, all it takes is measuring your arm fat.

What arm fat has to do with your bones

While it may sound strange that the fat on your arms would play a role in warning about your bone strength, those Greek researchers have the facts to back it up.

The team investigated the link between body fat and bone quality by examining 14 men and 101 women, without osteoporosis and an average age of about 62.

And they found that overall, people who have excess fat on their bodies — irrespective of their body mass index (BMI) — have low bone quality in their spine.

Even more concerning, they discovered that the more belly fat located deep inside the abdomen and around internal organs (known as visceral fat), the lower the quality of the spine’s spongy bone or trabecular bone.

In other words, having more visceral fat means you’re more likely to suffer from a spinal fracture.

This didn’t surprise the researchers since visceral fat is the hormonally more active component of total body fat. This means that this specific type of body fat produces molecules called adipocytokines that kick off low-grade inflammation, which can negatively impact bone quality.

However, while we can all look at our bellies and see if we need to lose weight, the level of visceral fat on our bodies can still be hard to gauge. And that’s where the arms come in.

The researchers then looked at the distribution of body fat under the skin and discovered that people with higher fat mass in their arms were also far more likely to have lower bone quality and strength in their spines.

According to study senior author, Professor Eva Kassi, “This could mean that the arm’s subcutaneous fat, which can be easily estimated even by the simple and inexpensive skin-fold calliper method, may emerge as a useful index of bone quality of the spine, possibly predicting the vertebrae fracture risk.”

Put simply, you can get an idea of how strong your bones are simply by pinching the fat on the back of your upper arm.

Strengthening your arms and your bones

Even better, the researchers believe that their results also provide a simple clue to boosting bone strength and avoiding osteoporosis by exercising to target visceral fat and focusing on your upper body.

Great ways to do this include:

• Revving it up with HIIT – High-intensity interval training or HIIT helps trigger an “after-burn effect” that can boost your calorie burn and melt away visceral fat even after you’ve finished exercising.
• Adding in resistance training – If you want to build strong bones, focus on building strong muscles through weight and resistance training.
• Avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugar – Sugars and carbs can lead to blood sugar spikes that increase visceral fat. Skip these belly fat boosters and instead reach for foods rich in protein and fiber to help keep your blood sugar on stable footing. And be sure to include anti-inflammatory foods that help your bones.

With these simple tricks, you can say goodbye to stubborn visceral and arm fat and hello to strong bones.

Sources:

Arm fat may reveal women and men at risk of spinal fracture – EurekAlert!