A growing amount of data implies that excess weight facilitates the development of several health issues like joint diseases, high blood pressure and cardiac problems, and adds to your chances of having cancer and post operative morbidity. In addition, obesity and excess weight is indicated to promote gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Compared with people with normal weight, overweight individuals with a body mass index of 25 kg/m2 to 30 kg/m2 are fifty percent more likely to have GERD, and obese individuals with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 are twice as likely to have the disease.

In addition, the risk for gastro-esophageal reflux disease appeared to increase in a dose-response relationship with increasing weight. An additional BMI of 3.5 kg/m2 paves way to a 2.7 times more chances of having GERD. In contrast, a decrease of 3.5 kg/m2 of BMI cut your chances of having GERD by 40%.

The system causing the relation of obesity with GERD is still unknown. But, it was observed that obesity has been linked to more intra-abdominal pressure, impaired gastric emptying, lesser lower esophageal sphincter pressure, and more incidence of transient sphincter relaxation, which can all advance to more esophageal acid exposure.

Obesity and being overweight increases your chances of having acidic disorders of the esophagus. It was suggested that future studies should examine the mechanism by which being overweight and obesity cause these complications, as well as the potential effects of weight loss. In the meantime, however, it is prudent to counsel all overweight patients who present with GERD-related diseases that weight loss may help improve symptoms.

It was also noted in one study that there is a clear link between body mass index and reflux symptoms in both men and women. As oppose to men with a BMI lower than 25, the risk factor for GERD is 3.3 times higher to men who have a BMI higher than 35. Extremely overweight women have 6.3 times more chances of suffering from gastro-esophageal reflux disease compared to those with average weight.

It is even more dangerous to those females who have a BMI higher than 35 who have used estrogen-only hormone substitutes. They are 33 times more at risk of suffering from GERD as oppose to those women who have average weight and are not using hormone replacements.

This study shows a clear link between GERD and with both being overweight, and estrogen use in women. It is known that obese women have an increased production of estrogen-like substances in their fatty tissue, which may explain why weight loss helps reduce the risk of gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Thus, this gives us one more motive to beat the bulge insistently.

Excess “baggage” puts more pressure on your tummy, which may inhibit the lower esophageal sphincter from opening and closing correctly.

If you are fat, weight loss of even ten to fifteen pounds can prevent gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Healthcare providers suggest as well that those who suffer from GERD should avoid wearing tight-fitting clothes to lessen the strain on their tummy.