News on bone health in relation to eating disorders seems to be in vogue lately, so here’s the latest and greatest: U.S. researchers are finding that adolescents with anorexia - even in a “mild” form - impairs proper bone development, which may lead to fractures and osteoperosis. (I don’t know exactly how they defined a “mild” eating disorder and dislike using the term, but that’s how they put it.) Even with a normal DXA scan, which measures bone density, an adolescent’s bone structure may be permanently changed because of the eating disorder. The researchers used a new high-resolution CT scan to detect the abnormalities in bone structure of anoretics in comparison to control subjects. The findings suggest that bone structure changes before bone density is compromised in adolescents with anorexia, and apparently the changes in bone structure may stick around even after bone density is restored. This means that for those of us who are in (or have been in) an eating disorder, we are still at risk for osteoperosis, fractures and other bone problems even if a bone density scan is normal. It’s not a death sentence, but it’s important to remember that we may still be at risk of having problems as we get older.
News on bone health in relation to eating disorders seems to be in vogue lately, so here’s the latest and greatest: U.S. researchers are finding that adolescents with anorexia - even in a “mild” form - impairs proper bone development, which may lead to fractures and osteoperosis. (I don’t know exactly how they defined a “mild” eating disorder and dislike using the term, but that’s how they put it.) Even with a normal DXA scan, which measures bone density, an adolescent’s bone structure may be permanently changed because of the eating disorder. The researchers used a new high-resolution CT scan to detect the abnormalities in bone structure of anoretics in comparison to control subjects. The findings suggest that bone structure changes before bone density is compromised in adolescents with anorexia, and apparently the changes in bone structure may stick around even after bone density is restored. This means that for those of us who are in (or have been in) an eating disorder, we are still at risk for osteoperosis, fractures and other bone problems even if a bone density scan is normal. It’s not a death sentence, but it’s important to remember that we may still be at risk of having problems as we get older.