Obesity and the Eye

In honor of American Diabetes Month, I wanted to talk about obesity and how it relates to the eye. Obesity is the fastest growing epidemic in the United States, according to the US Assistant Surgeon General. The prevalence has increase 74% since 1991. Can you believe that?! You know that obesity affects systemic health, but have you ever thought about how obesity can affect eye health?

Before we get into eyes, let’s review a little. Obesity is defined as excess body fat relative to lean body mass. We most commonly measure this by calculating one’s BMI (body mass index). This can be done by dividing weight (kg) by height. For adults aged 20 years and older, a BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight, 18.5-24.9 is considered normal, 25-29.9 is considered overweight and a BMI. Obesity is a major contributor to chronic disease and disability. Diabetes is the most common co-morbidity associated with obesity. It has been reported that 97% of all cases of type 2 diabetes are due to excessive weight.

Now you must see where I am going with this, where there is diabetes, there can be diabetic eye disease! Obesity itself is a risk factor for the development of diabetic retinopathy (changes to the retinal health due to uncontrolled diabetes). High BMI and a high waist-to-hip ratio are significant risk factors for the development of diabetic retinopathy.

Not only does obesity increase the risk for diabetic eye disease but obesity also increases the risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration due to changes that occur in the body. Some of the changes include increased oxidative stress, changes in the lipoprotein profile (cholesterol levels) and increased inflammation.

Obesity is also a risk factor for cataract development. In one study, patients whose BMI was 30kg had a 36% higher risk of any type of cataracts compared to those whose BMI was less than 23kg.

Obesity is a scary epidemic. We really should be doing anything and everything to increase the awareness of the complications that obesity can lead to. I hope today I have helped shed some light on how obesity can affect the eye!

Keeping and Eye on You,

Betsy W. Fraser, O.D.

information taken from: optometricnutrionsociety.org