Obesity may lead to multiple sclerosis, says study
Posted on: 06/Jul/2016 9:45:26 AM
A new study published in the journal PLOS Medicine has said that overweight people are more likely to develop multiple sclerosis. The study was conducted by researchers at the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, Quebec in Canada.
The researchers say that individuals who are obese in early adulthood face a heightened risk of developing multiple sclerosis, or MS.
A Mendelian randomisation study was carried out by the team. This study was in large population datasets to investigate whether genetically determined obesity was associated with increased risk of MS. Results showed that a change in body mass index from overweight to obese , which is an equivalent to an average size adult woman increasing in weight from 150 to 180 pounds, was associated with an increase of about 40 per cent in the risk of MS.
Speaking about this, the researchers said, These findings may carry important public health implications because of the high prevalence of obesity in many countries. Because the median age of onset for MS is 28-31, these findings should provide motivation to combat increasing youth obesity rates by implementing community and school-based interventions that promote physical activity and nutrition.
