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Obesity has long been established as a risk factor for kidney diseases, which are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Hormonal changes associated with excess fat increase the body’s fluid volume, leading to elevated blood pressure. As a result, kidneys have to work harder to filter the blood, contributing to various health disorders, including kidney disease.
Scientists from several research centers in the United States analyzed how changes in weight or fitness are linked to the risk of developing chronic kidney disease among adults with obesity.
Methodology
Scientists utilized data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, involving 6,814 middle-aged adults from six cities in the United States. The participants’ weight and other health indicators were tracked for ten years. From this pool, researchers focused on 1,208 obese adults who did not have kidney diseases or diabetes (which can lead to kidney diseases).
The scientists gathered information on the participants’ walking speed as a measure of physical fitness.
How Physical Activity Helps Prevent Kidney Diseases
It has been found that gaining an additional 11 pounds in weight increases the risk of kidney disease by 34%. Conversely, losing weight does not reduce the risk. This suggests that preventing weight gain might be more important than weight loss. Those who walked slower than 2 miles per hour were 57% more likely to develop kidney disease compared to those who walked faster.
The study’s author, Meera Harhay, MD, the medical director of clinical research at Drexel University in Philadelphia, believes that the benefits might be linked to the anti-inflammatory effects of regular physical exercises and/or improvements in heart and vascular health.
The mechanisms by which exercise and higher fitness are protective to the kidneys represent an important knowledge gap.
The study’s author, Meera Harhay
However, she noted that people who already have kidney diseases should consult their doctors regarding their exercise goals.
Next, researchers plan to investigate how individuals with obesity and kidney diseases can lose weight while preserving muscle mass. This is because cardio exercises can pose complications for patients with kidney damage.
Previous research confirms the numerous advantages of any form of regular physical activity for health. Physical exercises even counteract genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, one of the major risk factors for kidney diseases.
