How Does Obesity Affect Kidneys

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide problem that is currently three times higher for African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and seniors (The National Kidney Foundation, 2013). CKD occurs when the kidneys are damaged by a pathogen or injury and they can no longer adequately maintain proper levels of regulated chemicals in the bloodstream. There are many risk associated with CKD. According to the National Kidney Foundation, two of the major risks are Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) and Cardiovascular Disease. Currently twenty million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk. Age has no barrier on getting CKD. People with pre-existing health issues, and a part of certain population

Candidate genes allow researchers to come up with rational hypothesis of role of these genes and their contribution to different conditions, in this case obesity. Therefore, they are potential predisposition factors. Candidate genes are chosen on a basis of knowledge of their function, biochemistry and their expression pattern (what protein they encode for and where is this protein mainly expressed) in obesity. At present, there are about 300 genes that have been hypothesized to contribute (to some extent) to obesity development.

Obesity can lead to a number of different health issues, one of the least deadly but most popular is high blood pressure. One half of Americans aged 55-64 have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stoke- and two in five are obese according to Health, United States 2005(Obesity, High Blood Pressure). High blood pressure is an increase in the amount of blood your heart is pushing through the body with every heartbeat. The increase in pressure thickens the heart muscle, which makes it work harder, while as the heart, muscle thickens the harder it is to contract and relax. This strain on the heart over time could lead to heart failure. High blood pressure is a very common effect obesity has on the body simply because the more a person weighs the blood is being pushed throw the body. Of course, there are medications that can lower high blood pressure, although losing weight for an obese person with high blood pressure is a more recommended remedy. With high blood pressure, there is a far more likelihood of having a heart attack.

Recent studies show that a decrease in water intake may cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water can reduce the fat deposits in the body. The kidneys do not function properly without enough water and when this happens, some of their duties are passed on to the liver. The liver's job is to metabolize stored fat into energy, but if the liver has to help the kidneys it metabolizes less fat. Therefore, fat remains in the body and weight loss will stop.

According to the Endocrine Society webpage, obesity is an enormous concern in the United States and it is related with diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. People with obesity have a higher risk of suffering a heart attack, abrupt cardiac death, angina, and cardiac arrhythmia than those that have a healthy body. Fat accumulation promotes higher levels of triglycerides and bad-cholesterol, and reduces the level of good cholesterol. Other potential health problems for obese people could be a stroke incident or renal failure. In the same way, overweight is a characteristic of young women diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, hormonal dysfunction, and infertility. Furthermore, most of the people with diabetes (Type 2) are obese. The National Health and Nutrition

Obesity has a negative influence on blood pressure and cholesterol, and may lead to diabetes.

The amount of filtration done by the kidneys will obviously cause negative effects throughout the body if they are not functioning properly.

well treated, it can lead to certain forms of cancer and diabetes. With dietary man-

According to National Kidney Foundation (2010), the majority of people with diabetes tend to develop kidney disease. This is probably the result of poor or improper dietary and life-style practices, although genetics seem to be a factor. This makes it the single leading cause of kidney failure. High blood pressure/Hypertension is another pre-disposing factor of kidney failure. This disease is also aggravated by improper dietary and life-style practices. High blood pressure/Hypertension speeds up the loss of kidney function and eventually leads to kidney failure. It also appears to have genetic and familial factors (National Kidney Foundation, 2010).

This could make you more prone to increasing your susceptibility to diabetes later in life.

Obesity — A high body mass index (BMI) in patients with diabetes has been associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease. In addition, diet and weight loss may

This is because the kidney contains many blood vessels, and any disease that damages these also affects the kidney. It is also known that even mild cases of high blood pressure or having slightly elevated blood sugar levels can still increase a person’s risk for kidney problems. Managing these conditions helps minimize the risk of damage to these critical organs.

Kidneys work rapidly throughout the day filtering out the toxic wastes that go through the body. The kidneys filter about 180 liters of blood per day. That is three liters getting filtered 60 times per day. But my question is does having diabetes and hypertension affect the filtration rate in the kidneys?

One of the diseases is diabetes mellitus which is a major cause of renal failure. This disease can be defined as an increase of fasting blood glucose that is affected by a deficiency in insulin hormone. The normal range for glucose (fasting) in the blood is 2.8-6.0 mmol/L. It is classified into two groups, type 1 (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) and type 2 (non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus). Stein (2008, p.6) points out that kidney failure happens most often when patients have suffered from diabetes mellitus for more than 10 years. According to United States Renal Data System (USRDS) report in 2007, approximately 44% of primary causes of renal failure is diabetes mellitus in the United States in 2005. Also, Stein (2008) indicates that 15% of dialysis patients are influenced by diabetes mellitus in the United Kingdom. Diabetes mellitus has negative affects throughout the kidneys where the increase of the range of blood sugar causes the damages to the cells in the kidneys. This leads to the presence of the glucose in the urine which is known as glycosuric.

Obesity has been related to high blood pressure, heart disease, respiratory problems, gallstones, insomnia, and some cancers (http://www.fdu.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON0007Q.html). Some doctors prescribe liquid diets to patients unable to digest solid foods; however, the majority of liquid diets are used for the purpose of losing weight.