Acid Reflux and Obesity
Eight studies from the researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, US, indicated that the symptoms of Acid Reflux Disease are increased by having a high BMI or body mass index. Acid Reflux symptoms can increase by as much as 50 percent in overweight people compared to people with normal weight. Obesity is not good news at all.
It was shown in 2006 by Dr. B Jacobson, from Boston University of Medicine, USA, that digestive health is affected by excess weight. A normal weight person gaining a bit of weight, can still look fine and not be considered obese, but could still become more prone to Acid Reflux. Also a person who notices his Acid Reflux symptoms become more severe can shed a few pounds to help relieve those symptoms.
So why does obesity matter?
Imagine layers and layers of excess body fat compressing the stomach, pushing it in, localizing and trapping stomach acids in little natural enclosures in the stomach folds so formed. Then the effects of indiscriminately imbibed food, and resultant hernias. And we are still not considering the hormonal modifications going on in the body that cause your obesity, and possibly, some problems in most of your body functions, like digestion.
Twenty percent of Americans today suffer from periodic Acid Reflux disease or GERD. Acid Reflux can then interfere with daily things like eating or sleeping. Obesity is becoming an epidemic today and helps to add to this percentage. Certain cancers including cancer of the esophagus have been linked to obesity.
Overweight people are prone to weaker esophageal sphincters and tend to develop a condition related to Acid Reflux called a hiatus hernia. This is when the upper part of the stomach bulges out above the diaphragm. There is so much to fit in such a limited space, that folds can become permanent hernias.
Another concern for people suffering from Acid Reflux is that research shows that even when undergoing a surgery for weight loss, Acid Reflux can still worsen. Opinions conflict over whether to treat an overweight person through surgery.
What seems to be very clear is that obesity increases pressure in the abdomen, and causes the contents of the stomach to swish back into the food pipe. Obesity, indirectly leads to slowing of movement and less exercise, and basically loss of various muscle tones. The Esophageal Sphincter could possibly be among those affected.
