Does A Connection Between Multiple Sclerosis & Obesity Exist?

Here’s another reason why maintaining a healthy weight is so important. Recent studies illustrate that for adolescent women, carrying excess pounds may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. As such, healthcare professionals are encouraging young women to follow diets low in fat and calories, while engaging in regular exercise.

According to a landmark study published in Neurology, women who were obese at 18 years old had double the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) at some point in her lifetime. This study was actually the first to connect MS and obesity, the researched stated.

Explaining Multiple Sclerosis

A disease targeting the central nervous system, MS is thought to affect as many as 500,000 Americans, with an estimated 10,000 new cases being diagnosed annually.  Although MS is typically not fatal, it is a chronic condition with no cure, as of yet. The disease’s symptoms may include: dizziness, blurred vision, slurred speech, sexual dysfunction, incontinence, shakiness, loss of coordination, and weakness. The disease is actually very rare, especially for women; there is a 1 in 100 risk of developing the condition (women have a 1 in 8 lifetime risk of developing breast cancer).

For this study, the researchers observed more than 200,000 female subjects enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study II, which covered a 40- year period. These subjects were asked questions regarding weight, height, body size, smoking and exercise habits, and disease status. In the study, 593 cases of MS were diagnosed.

Above all else, there was no connection established between the risk of MS and having a large body size, whether at ages 5 and 10 or as an adult. However, if a woman was obese at age 18, the risk for MS more than doubled. Those women with a large body size at age 20 were shown to have a 96% increased risk for developing MS.

Exposing the Study’s Limitations

Despite the study’s findings, the researchers do caution that further research is required. While these findings were only applicable to white women, the researchers believe that the boys would show similar results. However, they do believe that racial differences may play a role in MS, especially for African Americans and Asians, who have a lower incidence of MS. This genetic protection may be “stronger than obesity would be at increasing their risk,” stated study co-author Dr. Kassandra L. Munger of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

In addition, the researchers emphasize that for MS, weight is not the most significant risk factor. The three top ranking risks are all environmental: infection with the Epstein Barr virus, vitamin D deficiency, and cigarette smoking.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091120/hl_nm/us_obesity_adolescence