Weight Gain And Acid Reflux – Are They Related?
Obesity is considered as one of the major physiological problems being faced by the modern world.
The severity of this condition is especially true about the western developed world. In these parts, the sudden changes in life style and food habits have caused havoc in many people’s health and lives. Modern man and woman chose to skip the traditional food cooking and opted for the easier, tastier, oilier, unhealthy fast food. Obesity is a natural result of this junk food culture prevailing in the western countries. Does obesity have any relation with acid reflux? Let us go through its effect on this painful condition.
The sad truth of the matter is that any weight gain can adversely affect acid reflux. You need not be obese! Even slight weight gain is going to affect your acid reflux condition for the worse. According to your physician, you may not be even obese yet! Your BMI (Body-Mass Index) can be lower than those of people categorized as obese. Still, you may feel increasingly severe symptoms of acid reflux as you gain added weight.
As the BMI of people increases, even when they are below the obese or overweight category, the severity of acid reflux condition increases for the worse. This has been proven through modern scientific studies conducted by American researchers. In these studies, as the BMI of participants increased, they felt increasing level of discomfort due to acid reflux. The difference in severity of acid reflux condition was significantly worse in participants even while their BMI levels were much lower than those of obese people. In many cases, the study participants belonging to a group whose BMI is a couple of indices higher than others were facing a significantly higher level of discomfort.
The effect of obesity on acid reflux was known for a long time. As obese people have much more fat than others, they may feel much more pressure on their stomach area than others. This can cause more stomach acids to reflux up in to the esophagus and even up to their throat. This constant pressure exerted on their esophageal sphincter can damage the working of this valve like organ and may even affect its functioning in the longer term.
Every one of us knows the effect of obesity on our life expectancy and quality of life. But many of us are ignoring the warnings at the risk of facing diabetes, heart problems etc at a later stage. For such people, the chances of a disease that they don’t have is not going to tempt them to change their life style. But, acid reflux can force them to change their easy going ways. As this painful condition can affect them regularly, many of us might lose a few pounds and stay on the healthier side. Thus, this new found knowledge can be a boon for people, who may not bother about a healthier life style under normal circumstances. The nagging nature of acid reflux can force them to a better style of living and even to an increased life expectancy!
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