INTRODUCTION: Just a few studies have evaluated physical traits, lifestyle and bone mineral density (BMD) acquisition in Brazilian female adolescents. OBJECTIVE: To identify physical traits and lifestyle factors related to BMD in Brazilian female adolescents. METHODS: 329 healthy adolescent girls aged between 10 and 20 years participated in this study. The physical characteristics evaluated were: body weight, stature, body mass index, pubertal stage, self-declared ethnicity and skin color. Concerning lifestyle, the following factors were evaluated: socioeconomic status (SES), physical activity level (PAL) and daily calcium intake. Additionally, total body, lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by bone densitometry. Pearson's coefficient of correlation (r) and stepwise regression analysis were employed to check dependent and independent variables correlation (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Total body, lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD increase as body weight, height, BMI, age and pubertal stage increase (r ≥ 0.43; p<0.01). On the other hand, only SES (r = 0.14; p<0.05) and PAL (r = 0.12; p<0.05) were correlated. After stepwise regression, body weight, pubertal stage, age, height, calcium intake, SES, and PAL explained around 48-68% for BMD variation in female adolescents. CONCLUSION: The results suggest body weight, age and pubertal stage should be used as control variables for BMD variations in female adolescents. Furthermore, SES, PAL and dialy calcium intake were less important than physical traits for BMD during adolescence.
bone mineral density; adolescents; bodys weight; puberty
