Having too much fat in your abdominal region can greatly increase your risk of developing many different types of medical problems, including type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, colon cancer and cardiovascular disease. People who develop diabetes may suffer complications such as heart problems and blindness if they have excessive belly fat. A new study points to yet another medical problem that is correlated with excess abdominal fat. According to researchers, excessive abdominal fat is linked to an increased chance of developing kidney disease.
Chinese studies
According to a pair of studies that were reported by the American Diabetes Association on its website, researchers in China conducted a pair of studies into the link between excessive abdominal obesity and kidney disease. In the first study, 1,016 people who had type 2 diabetes were studied. The researchers measured the participants’ obesity, including both their overall body fat as well as the fat that was concentrated in their abdominal regions. The participants were then tested for diabetic kidney disease, which is a chronic medical condition that gets worse over time.
In the second study, the researchers studied 279 participants who had type 2 diabetes. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had kidney disease. The participants were divided into three groups based on their levels of obesity. The three groups were then tracked over a six-year period in order to see how many of each group developed kidney disease.
Results of the studies
Participants in both studies who had higher percentages of abdominal fat had higher risks of developing diabetic kidney disease. In the first study, the researchers found that the people who had the highest levels of abdominal fat were approximately 1.5 times likelier to develop kidney disease. In both studies, a correlation between higher levels of abdominal fat and kidney disease was found regardless of other factors such as body mass index.
What these studies demonstrate
The most common cause of kidney disease is diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes and also have too much abdominal fat, your risk for developing diabetic kidney disease is significantly higher. If you have not been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, having too much belly fat places you at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as diabetic kidney disease. The link between the kidney disease and abdominal fat exists even if you do not have a significant amount of fat deposited in other locations of your body.
If you carry too much fat around your midsection, you might benefit by going on a weight-loss and exercise regimen. Losing abdominal fat might reduce your risks of developing diabetes and kidney disease, and it may help you to live a healthier life. Before you begin any exercise or weight-loss program, talk to your doctor for guidance.