Weight gain increases your risk of acid reflux
As if gaining weight didn't already increase your risk of health problems enough, add one more to the ever-growing list: gastroesophageal reflux disease (also called acid reflux).
In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers surveyed more than 10,000 women to figure out how frequently they were suffering from acid reflux, for how long, and how severe the problem was.
While reviewing the answers, the researchers noticed something interesting: the higher a woman's body mass index (BMI) was, the more likely she was to be suffering with acid reflux. For instance:
Women with BMIs between 22.5 and 24.9 were 40 percent more likely have acid reflux than women with BMIs of 20 to 22.4.
Women with BMIs between 25 to 27.4 were two times more likely to have the problem.
Women with a BMI between 27.5 and 29.9 had two and a half times the risk.
And finally, women with a BMI above 30 faced triple the risk of women with a healthy BMI.
What's so interesting is that, if you look at the researchers' results I listed above, you'll see that you don't even have to be overweight to increase your risk of acid reflux disease. (A BMI anywhere between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered a normal weight.) All it can take is just the slightest weight gain, and you could find yourself at risk.
The researchers attributed the increase to a rise in body fat. Excess body fat, -- even just a few extra pounds around your waist -- can increase the pressure inside your abdomen. Then that pressure forces acid back up into the esophagus, causing heartburn.
Fortunately, losing weight often fixes the problem. But while you're trying to shed those extra pounds, pay attention to what you eat. Foods like chocolate, coffee, mints, tomatoes, peppers, and onions can all trigger acid reflux.
If your symptoms are extreme, short-term use of an acid blocker like Pepcid, Zantac, or Prilosec can work. The key word here, though, is "short-term." If you continue to use them for a few weeks without losing the weight, you're not addressing the underlying cause of the problem. You also risk damaging your stomach's ability to produce the acid it needs for proper digestion.
