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Obesity linked to four eye diseases
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A strong correlation between obesity and four major eye diseases has been found, according to Israeli researchers. After conducting a literature review, Michael Belkin and Zohar Habot-Wilner consistently found obesity linked to age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. They reported their findings in Refuah, an Israeli medical journal.
The researchers reviewed 20 studies comprising thousands of patients worldwide, they said, to determine the implications of obesity on eyesight. Where body mass indexes were significantly high (in the range of clinical obesity), the authors found both an increased risk factor for eye diseases and an increased progression of those diseases.
“Nobody has the faintest idea why cataracts are affected,” Prof. Belkin said in Israel21c, an online news service.
Obese people are more likely to contract gout, where developing cataracts is fairly common, he said, which may account for the correlation. The remaining three diseases all affect the vascular system, so a correlation was expected between the diseases and obesity, the researchers said.