Saturated Fat Intake in Midwestern Older Adults and its Effect on Bone Mineral Density: A Correlational Study

Abstract

Over 52 million people in the United States had osteoporosis or low bone mass in 2005, accounting for over 17 billion dollars in health care and rehabilitation services from osteoporotic fractures. While nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D have been shown to play a role in bone health, other nutrients such as saturated fat intake have also been linked to bone health. The purpose of this study was to determine whether dietary saturated fat intake influences bone mineral density in older adults. The secondary data was collected from a previous UW-Stout Collaboration Study conducted from September 2012 to May 2013, which included food frequency data and spine and pelvic bone mineral density measurements. Though not significant, a correlation analysis indicated that there was a positive relationship between saturated fat intake and spine and pelvic bone mineral density. The sample size was a limiting factor of this study; therefore future studies may require a larger sample size in order to find significance. Saturated fat may influence bone health by impacting bone mineral density, however its true relationship to bone mineral density remains uncertain. Therefore it is important to continue research on saturated fat and its relationship to bone mineral density.