Weight and gout

Weight control is important for people who suffer from gout because obesity has been linked to high levels of uric acid in the blood. Crash diets as well as fasting are not the answer to this problem as they can actually raise uric acid levels.

Slow and steady weight loss is not only better for you generally but also more likely to keep gout under control, says Dr. Conn, M.D., a senior vice president of medical affairs at the Arthritis Foundation in Atlanta.

In a study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, researchers followed 1 200 medical students for more than 30 years. They found that those who gained the most weight during early adulthood were the ones at highest risk for developing gout later in life.

Even a slight weight gain of three to five kilograms, between the ages of 25 to 35 has shown to nearly double a person’s risk of developing gout.

Keeping your weight in control now will go a long way toward preventing gout in the future, and it’s a lot easier to keep weight off than to take it off later on.

 

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