Feb 01 2009
Weight loss reduces Urinary Incontinence
A new report published in the latest issue of the “New England Journal of Medicine” indicated that losing weight may help overweight and obese women in reducing urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence is loss of bladder control and it may occur due to various reasons such as childbirth, menopause, side effects of medications, urinary infections etc. Millions of adults in the US suffer from this common problem. Now, this clinical study report, authored by researchers from multiple medical centers, provides evidence that weight loss and lifestyle changes may help control urinary incontinence in overweight and obese women.
The report published in the January 29, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine is the findings of a study called the Program to Reduce Incontinence by Diet and Exercise (PRIDE). It was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Office of Research on Womens Health (ORWH). For the study, the researchers recruited a total of 338 clinically obese and overweight women, who experienced urinary incontinence at least 10 times per week. The 338 women were divided into two groups. One group was assigned to an intensive six-month weight-loss program including diet, exercise, and behavior modification. The second group received information about diet and exercise but were given no additional help losing weight.
After six months, the researchers found that women in the intensive weight-loss group lost an average 8 % of their body weight and reduced weekly urinary incontinence episodes by 47 %. On the other hand, the second group lost an average 1.6 % of body weight and had 28 % fewer episodes of incontinence. This means that a minor loss of body weight may help in reducing the distressing situations that occurs due to urinary incontinence.
So, the findings of PRIDE clearly provides evidence that weight loss can help control urinary incontinence in overweight and obese women. Besides providing relief from urinary incontinence, weight loss may also promote additional health benefits such as preventing type 2 diabetes. So, obese and overweight women must take it seriously and go for weight loss programs.
Source: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00091988
