Even after changing your diet and losing weight, you are more likely to develop diseases that cause permanent blindness.
In addition to all the damage obesity can do to your health, scientists have now discovered another one. According to research recently published in the journal Science, a high-fat diet deregulates the eye’s immune system. Even after changing your diet and losing weight, there is a greater chance of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the leading global causes of permanent blindness. The disease affects the central portion of the retina responsible for seeing details and affects 196 million people worldwide. People suffering from obesity are those most at risk.
Ophthalmologist Leôncio Queiroz Neto, from the Penido Burnier Institute in Campinas, explains that AMD is a neuroinflammatory disease and can be of two types:
Dry: characterized by the formation of drusen or fatty deposits in the retina leading to cell death; OR
Wet: characterized by the formation of new vessels in the retina that can leak fluid or blood into the retina, making vision blurry.
“Other risk factors linked to the development of macular degeneration are smoking, exposure of unprotected eyes to the sun and hypertension,” he points out.
Other risks of obesity
The World Health Organization (WHO) establishes overweight as between 25 and 29.9 BMI (Body Mass Index). Obesity is equivalent to a BMI of 30 or more. “When we are overweight we also have difficulty fighting free radicals that are part of the aging process. Therefore, we are more likely to develop cataracts, a disease that causes the lens of the eye to become cloudy. This, in fact, is the main treatable cause of vision loss and the only treatment is surgery. It consists of the implantation of an intraocular lens that replaces the cloudy lens,” explains the doctor.
Leôncio says the more weight you gain, the greater your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a cellular resistance to insulin produced by the pancreas that causes glucose to build up in the blood. To give you an idea, a BMI above 30 increases the chance of contracting type 2 diabetes by 10 times. The risk among people with a BMI above 35 is 80 times greater, informs the specialist.
The ophthalmologist says that after 10 years of living with diabetes, most people develop diabetic retinopathy, a disease characterized by the formation of new vessels that make it difficult to nourish the retina. The good news, however, is that it is possible to destroy these new vessels early using a laser. Furthermore, medical monitoring with injections controls the formation of these vessels, allowing vision to be maintained in 90% of cases.
Prevention
The ophthalmologist warns that many eye diseases appear after the age of 40 and can go unnoticed in the early stages. Therefore, the recommendation is to consult an ophthalmologist every 2 years up to age 59 and every year from age 60. “It is very common for patients to discover that they have diabetes or high blood pressure during a fundus exam that maps the retina and diagnoses changes in the retinal vessels. Regardless of weight, periodic exams are recommended for everyone,” he concludes.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
