Is there such a thing as “broad bone” and how do skeletal features affect weight loss?

Many people blame their extra pounds not on a sedentary lifestyle or lack of activity, but on the mythical “broad bones”. Allegedly, a heavy skeleton and a massive physique are inherited and nothing can be done about it. Together with Ekaterina Ivannikova, an endocrinologist at OSTEO POLY CLINIC, we find out whether bone features really affect body constitution.

Myth or reality: what does the weight of the skeleton depend on?

Let’s dot all the “e’s” right away – you will not find a “broad bone” in any medical reference book or encyclopedia. There is simply no such term in medicine – it belongs entirely to folk “folklore”.

The weight of the skeleton is called bone mass: it consists of 60% of mineral components and 40% of organic components. As the doctor explains, the indicators of this mass can vary depending on the sex, age and nutrition of a person. So, if a woman weighs up to 50 kg, her skeleton is about 2 kg. If you weigh between 50 and 75 kg, the bone mass is 2.5 kg, and more than 75 kg – 3 kg. For men, the figures are in about the same range, but the weight boundaries run slightly differently: up to 65 kg, from 65 to 90 kg and more than 90 kg.

It can be seen that the greater the weight, the greater the bone mass. The fact is that for one kilogram of fatty tissue there are about 16.5 g of minerals in the skeleton. This is where this difference comes from, although it is insignificant.

Why do people of the same weight look different?

At about the same weight and height, one person may appear slim and trim, while another may look a little overweight. The point is that the same mass of fat and muscle tissue differs in volume: a kilogram of fat looks bigger than a kilogram of muscle because it is less dense.

Of course, your appearance depends a lot on your lifestyle: how often you exercise, what and how much you eat, whether you follow a regimen, etc. However, body constitution also plays an important role – these are the features of the body, some of which are inherited and others are acquired during life. There are three main types of human constitution:

Ectomorphic. It is characterized by a short torso, long arms and legs, long and narrow feet and palms, narrow chest and shoulders. Fat deposits are very insignificant, muscles are usually thin and elongated.

Mesomorphic. Wide chest, long torso, great muscular strength. Dense muscle structure.

Endomorphic. Rounded face, short neck, wide hips. Soft musculature, a significant amount of fat deposits.

Also distinguish and several types of physique.

Hyposthenic (or asthenic). At this type the diaphragm is located low enough, the chest is stretched from top to bottom, the neck is also stretched, shoulders are narrow, limbs are long and thin. As a rule, hyposthenics are taller than average. Their muscle mass is poorly developed, and the amount of adipose tissue is usually below average.

Normostenic. In this type, there is significantly more muscle than in the hyposthenic type, and the skeleton is more robust and developed. Fat deposits are in line with the average.

Hyperstenic. People with a physique of this type are usually short, with a short neck. Features of their internal structure is due to a rounded rib cage. And adipose tissue, as a rule, more than usual.

Indeed, people with endomorphic constitution and hyperstenic physique are more prone to fullness. However, the matter here, as it turns out, is not about “wide bones” at all.

The doctor notes that all in one way or another difficult to keep track of weight, but the recipe for weight loss is still quite simple: you need to get enough sleep, minimize stressful situations, be outdoors more often, do sports and watch your diet. If you can not lose extra pounds, you should consult an endocrinologist. Perhaps the excess weight is a consequence of more serious health problems.

How do I know my body constitution?

It is quite easy to find out the approximate constitution of the body – you need two fingers, thumb and forefinger, to wrap around the wrist on the bone, just above the wristwatch. In ectomorphs, the fingers will overlap, in mesomorphs – almost touch, and in endomorphs there will be a noticeable distance between them.

If we talk about celebrities, the owners of the ectomorphic physique will be Bruce Lee and Ryan Gosling. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a vivid representative of mesoforfs, and Russell Crowe and Dwayne Johnson are obvious endomorphs.

Nevertheless, the endocrinologist does not recommend relying on home methods. If you really need to determine the constitution of the body, you should go to a doctor and conduct bioimpedanceometry – a procedure to find out what the ratio of fat and muscle tissue in the body.