Slow walking pace, weight gain may be linked to CKD risk in adults with obesity
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Key takeaways:
- Patients with a slow pace had a 1.48 times higher risk for CKD.
- Patients had a 1.34 times higher risk for developing CKD for each 5 kg weight gain from baseline.
Slow walking pace and weight gain may be linked to chronic kidney disease risk in adults who have obesity but not diabetes, according to a study by Drexel University researchers.
Results from the College of Medicine and Dornsife School of Public Health suggest staying fit and avoiding weight gain may be more pivotal than weight loss alone to reduce CKD risk.
“For adults with obesity, low physical fitness and weight gain increase risks of developing kidney disease,” Meera N. Harhay, MD, MPH, said in a press release. While there are likely kidney-related health benefits from weight loss, “we did not see an association between weight loss and lower CKD risk.”
Researchers used a prospective, longitudinal cohort study to track 1,208 overweight and obese adults with a BMI of at least 25 kg/m² in the NIH Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis trial. Participants were recruited in six U.S. cities from July 2000 to August 2002, and studied for a median 9 years with 18-month, 3-year, 5-year and 10-year follow-ups. Patients did not have diabetes, heart disease or reduced kidney function at onset.
Researchers used various blood tests to measure the associations of weight change and slow walking pace with annual eGFR decline and incident CKD (eGFRCr-Cysbelow60mL/min/1.73 m²), and tested for interaction by baseline hypertension status.
“We already know that obesity raises risks of type 2 diabetes, a condition that is the main driver of chronic kidney disease in our country. But when we focused on adults with obesity who did not have diabetes or kidney disease at baseline, we found that it was weight gain and low physical fitness that were risk factors for CKD,” Harhay said.
According to the results, 15% of participants developed CKD. Walking pace of slower than 2 miles per hour was linked to eGFR decline at a rate of – 0.27 mL/min/1.73 m² per year. Patients with a slow pace faced a 1.48 times higher risk for CKD, the data showed. Researchers found patients had a 1.34 times higher risk for developing CKD for each 5 kg weight gain from baseline.
“Physical fitness may be as important as body weight when assessing CKD risk among adults with obesity, but future studies are needed to determine whether these results are also produced while testing interventions to help patients in this population prevent weight gain and improve their overall fitness,” Harhay said.
Reference:
Fitness and staving off weight gain may be more important than weight loss for preventing kidney disease in obese adults, Drexel study says. https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2023/September/Fitness-and-Staving-Off-Weight-Gain-for-Preventing-Kidney-Disease#:~:text=More-,Fitness%20and%20Staving%20Off%20Weight%20Gain%20May%20Be%20More%20Important,Obese%20Adults%2C%20Drexel%20Study%20Says&text=As%20obesity%20is%20a%20contributing,help%20mitigate%20a%20patient's%20risk. Published Sept. 28, 2023. Accessed Oct. 5, 2023.
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