Losing Weight to Protect Kidneys
Reported September 23, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Losing weight may do more than improve your confidence and body image. New research reveals shedding extra pounds may prevent the progression of kidney disease in obese patients.
More than one out of every three Americans is either obese or overweight. Losing weight improves many health conditions associated with excess weight. Preserving kidney function may be a new addition to the list, which already includes improved control of diabetes, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and reduced effects of heart disease.
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic analyzed 13 studies exploring the effects of weight loss in obese kidney disease patients. Weight loss was a result of either diet and exercise or surgical intervention. Diet and exercise reduced proteinuria, a key characteristic of kidney disease where patients excrete excess protein in their urine. Reducing proteinuria may prevent future decline in kidney function, a step toward protecting a kidney disease patient’s health. Surgical weight loss also improved health by normalizing the kidney’s filtration rates.
Researchers based their findings on a limited number of short-term studies, and say future long-term studies are necessary.
SOURCE: Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology, 2009