What is Gallstones
Is overweight related to gallstones forming? Let’s have a look. Gallstones are small, pebble-like substances that develop in the gallbladder. Gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped sac located below your liver in the right upper abdomen. When the liquid, named bile stored in the gallbladder contains too much cholesterol, bile salts or bilirubin (a waste product), it can be harden into pieces of stone-like material or gallstones. Bile is made in the liver, then stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it to help digesting fats.
In fact, cholesterol is the primary ingredient in most gallstones. Cholesterol stones account for about 80 percent of gallstones while the other pigment stones are small, dark stones made of bilirubin.
Studies related to Gallstones
According to Digestion study, people with gallstones may consume too many calories. Study from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also revealed that people with gallstones are often overweight.
Based on American estimates, an obese man is 21% more likely to develop gallstones. Obese women have seven times the risk of forming gallstones compared with women who are not overweight. That is why obese people are advised to enroll in a healthy weight loss program for any health reasons.
Another study from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that increasing BMI is associated with a substantially increased risk of the development of gallstones; women with BMI more than 45 have a 7-fold increase compared to normal-weight women.
In addition, the risk of gallstones in middle-aged women rises dramatically with increase in weight. According to a large-scale Harvard study, obese women were 6 times as prone to gallstones as women of normal weight. The study found that women only 10 pounds overweight had nearly double the chance of developing gallstones. Thus, healthy weight loss is a must if you or any of your family members are overweight.
One important thing to highlight is if you have high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol, your susceptibility to gallstones rises too. So, take care of your body and aware that maintaining a healthy body weight is as important as other things in your life.
What you can do to prevent gallstones
You need to change your diet. Eat more food rich in fibers. A study of residents of southern Italy revealed that a diet rich in sugars and animal fats and poor in vegetable fats and fibers was a significant risk factor for gallstones formation.
Most studies report that vegetarians are at low risk for gallstones. In some trials, vegetarians had only half the gallstones risk compared with meat eaters. Vegetarians often eat fewer calories and less cholesterol. They also tend to weigh less than meat eaters. All of these differences may reduce gallstones incidence.
The conclusion is try reducing the risk of gallstones by joining a healthy weight loss program if you are overweight.
