Risk of Eye Diseases & Blindness - Rises With Weight
If you need yet another reason to keep a close eye on your waistline, read on. Obesity is already recognized as one of the leading preventable causes of death from heart disease and diabetes, but it's also a key factor in sight loss, according to a recent report from the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) in Britain.
"Most people wrongly assume that if they don't have any obvious problems with their sight, everything must be fine," says RNIB eye health consultant Barbara McLaughlan. "With the huge increase in obesity that we have seen in recent years, many people are now jeopardizing their sight in later life."
The report highlights the increased risk obese people (those who have a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or above) have of developing three major causes of sight loss:
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Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), a condition affecting the retina, which is the leading cause of sight loss.
Diabetic retinopathy, a progressive blurring of vision developed by 60 percent of type 2 diabetes sufferers.
Cataracts, a clouding of the eye lens responsible for one in four cases ofsight loss in people over 75.
It states that obese people have doubled the risk of suffering ARMD and cataracts, as well as 10 times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
ARMD Can Worsen With Obesity
In addition to what the British researchers discovered, a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology found that if you have already been diagnosed with ARMD, being overweight or obese could increase the risk that the eye disease will worsen.
Approximately 30 percent of adults over age 75 have some degree of macular degeneration, most a mild form of the disease; and more than 1.6 million Americans over age 60 have advanced macular degeneration, according to the National Eye Institute. In fact, ARMD is the leading cause of vision loss among older adults. In ARMD, the macula (a tiny area of the retina that allows clear central vision) deteriorates over time, making it increasingly difficult to focus on objects directly. This affects a person's ability to do crucial tasks, such as reading and driving.
Risk factors for ARMD include smoking, high levels of unhealthy forms of fat and low levels of antioxidants, according to the study's lead author, Dr. Johanna M. Seddon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the epidemiology unit at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. In the study, Dr. Seddon and her colleagues followed about 260 patients over age 60 who had signs of mild ARMD.
They found that those who were overweight or obese were more than twice as likely than the thinner patients to have their macular degeneration progress to the advanced stage of the disease during the four-and-a-half year course of the study.
On the bright side, the researchers found that the patients who performed vigorous exercise (such as brisk walking or jogging) at least three times a week had a 25 percent reduction in the risk that their disease would worsen.
Eating Fruit Can Help Save Your Eyesight
Fortunately, macular degeneration (or other serious eye problems for that matter) isn't necessarily inevitable.
A recent study published in The Archives of Ophthalmology found that adults who consumed three more servings of fruit a day had a 36 percent decreased risk of developing ARMD. The research conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston examined data from over 77,000 women and nearly 41,000 men who were followed for a period of 12 to 18 years as part of long-term studies tracking a variety of health issues.
"Because there are a limited number of treatment options for age-related macular degeneration, clinicians and researchers have been focused on identifying factors that reduce risk and can ultimately save a person's eyesight," says Eunyoung Cho, lead author of the study. These findings are significant in showing that the antioxidants found primarily in fruits and vegetables can protect against free-radical damage that can lead to ARMD. Indeed, studies have also shown that antioxidant nutrients, such as carotenoids, vitamin C and zinc, can reduce the risk of disease progression and vision loss, according to Dr. Seddon.
Unfortunately, only 25 percent of Americans are consuming the recommended five-plus servings of fruits and vegetables per day. With more and more Americans living much longer, it is important to protect our eyesight. Says Cho, "People are living longer, healthier lives and age-related illnesses, such as blindness, can significantly impact an otherwise healthy quality of life." Adds McLaughlan of the RNIB, "To safeguard sight we recommend people maintain a healthy weight, eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, exercise to improve general health, don't smoke and most importantly have regular eye tests."
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