Bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral content per unit area (BMC/BW) of radius were delected in 1460 (male 713

female 747) healthy individuals in Chongqing area

their age ranging from 2 to 96 years. The results indicate that BMC and BMC/BW increase with age before 40 and decrease with age thereafter in both sexes. In males

BMC and BMC/BW decline gradually. The difference between neighboring age groups is not significant (P>0.05). While in female

BMC and BMC/BW decrease rapidly after 50 years of age

the aifference between neighboring age groups being significant (P<0.05) after 15 years of age. BMC and BMC/BW in females are significantly lower than those in males (P<0.05)

the older the age

the greater the difference

BMC and BMC/BW are positive correlated with body height and body weight (r = 0.61

r = 0.45).BMC and BMC/BW are significantly higher in athletes than in other groups(P<0.01)