Paper Title
Body Composition impact on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract
The association of bone mineral density (BMD) with anthropometric and body composition parameters remain unclear. This study aimed to explore these associations in Tunisian postmenopausal women. Eighty-one postmenopausal women were recruited. Body weight, body mass index, waist circumference and height were recorded. Bone mineral density in different sites and body composition (fat mass and lean mass) were measured using dual X-ray absorptiometry. As a result, increased body weight had a positive association with BMD in all sites expect in lumbar vertebrae. Also, body mass index was positively associated with right femur, total hip and whole body BMD. Waist circumference was positively correlated only with the whole body BMD. Increased trunk and total body fat mass was positively correlated with BMD at different skeletal sites. Also, leg, trunk and total lean mass were positively related to BMD at different sites. However, Multiple linear regression analysis shows that only trunk fat and lean mass were independently and positively associated to BMD, and the waist circumference was the only anthropometric parameter independently related to BMD. In conclusion, our finding demonstrate that body composition is likely to be a positive independent factor for BMD. Keyword - Bone mineral density; postmenopausal women; lean mass; fat mass; weight; waist circumference.