News: Fitness impacts kidney disease risk more than weight loss, study shows
While obesity is known to be a risk factor for kidney disease, higher physical fitness and maintaining body weight lowered the risk in adults with obesity, not losing weight, according to a new study published in Obesity. In the study, researchers found people’s risk of kidney disease rose by 34% for every 11 pounds they gained, but losing the weight didn’t decrease that risk. Measuring fitness by self-reported walking pace, they found those who walked slower than two miles per hour were 57% more at risk to get kidney disease than faster walkers, Medscape Medical News reported.
Researchers used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, taking from the population 1,208 adults who fit the medical definition of obese but who did not start the study with kidney disease or diabetes and tracking their weight and other health measures over 10 years. Their findings suggest that preventing weight gain may be more important than weight loss, as once scar tissue forms in the kidneys, that damage can’t be undone. The researchers noted that regular exercise may help the body survive that damage, however.
“The kidneys can only compensate so much before there is permanent damage,” said study author Meera Harhay, MD, the medical director of clinical research at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “The mechanisms by which exercise and higher fitness are protective to the kidneys represent an important knowledge gap.”
This research echoes other studies that found correlation between a higher level of fitness and a decreased risk of death for those with a high body mass index, whether weight loss occurred or not. Researchers did point out that heart-pounding workouts can pose complications for patients with kidney damage, however, and resistance training may be a better option to improve walking speed and overall fitness.
Editor’s note: To read Medscape Medical News’ coverage of this story, click here. To read the Obesity study, click here.