OVERWEIGHT AND INCONTINENCE
ANCHOR LEAD: URINARY INCONTINECE IN WOMEN CAN BE IMPROVED WITH MODEST WEIGHT LOSS, ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS
Merely losing about 10 pounds in overweight and obese women resulted in substantial improvement in urinary incontinence, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found. Arthur Burnett, a urologist at Johns Hopkins, describes the study.
BURNETT: This is a study that examined the issue of behavioral modification with weight loss, to help correct urinary stress incontinence, and secondarily urge incontinence, in women who were overweight and obese. Patients were randomized to receive either an intensive six month weight loss program that included diet, weight loss and behavioral modification, or alternatively to just an education program alone. What we learned from this study is that patients who did have weight loss had a significant improvement with regard to their incontinence episodes. I think that’s a major take home message. :32Burnett says overweight and obesity may exert more pressure on the bladder and pelvis, resulting in incontinence, and this study demonstrates one more good reason to lose weight. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey reporting.
