Obesity has been linked to many conditions, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Now, a recent study featured on Science Daily adds early decline in kidney function to the list.
Based on 10 years’ worth of data from 2,891 volunteers, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco found that those with a higher body mass index showed greater and faster kidney function decline compared with their normal-weight counterparts.
“When we accounted for diabetes, high blood pressure, and inflammatory processes, the body mass index was still a predictor of kidney function decline, so there was something unique about just being too large that in and of itself affected kidney function even before the onset of frank kidney disease,” says first author Vanessa Grubbs.
Researchers also say that early detection of kidney decline may also help prevent the onset of other obesity-related conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. This just goes to show how important it is to watch our weight. Healthy kidneys are important in keeping many parts of the body functioning properly, including the heart, and the brain, and the immune system.
(Photo by GerritsenBeach.net via Flickr Creative Commons)
