Weighty Issues

OK - there's two things (probably more) that are obvious about me from this blog:
1. I love food
2. I need to lose weight.

Taken together, those two things are a problem.

Now, comes a bigger problem.

This study:

Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2011 Oct;63(10):1357-64. doi: 10.1002/acr.20526.

Impact of obesity on functioning among women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Katz P, Yazdany J, Julian L, Trupin L, Margaretten M, Yelin E, Criswell LA.

Source

Arthritis Research Group, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, USA. patti.katz@ucsf.edu

has some very sad news for people with lupus who are obese.

It found that obesity effectively made lupus worse, and made other things that go with lupus (like depression) worse. Women who were studied who were both obese and had lupus had a greater level of disability.

Now here's the kicker. They stated with a the fairly usual Body Mass Index of 30 as being the obesity mark - and then dropped it to 26.8 as a more appropriate level for people with lupus. (So we're obese when we're lighter than other people who are just "overweight".)

Here's what makes my story really sad. I have a BMI of 38. I have been struggling with my weight on and off for years.  I'm not really sure how accurate my BMI is - because it depends on a weight measurement, and frankly, my weight can change by 3kg from day to day because of fluid/steroid issues. Even so, my BMI is still way too high.

I always knew that losing weight would help with the stress on my joints. Here's another incentive.  I guess it's back to the Calorie King website to have another go at getting it right.

It's not easy to lose weight when fatigue and aches and pains interfere with the exercise program, and drugs cause problems with fluid retention.

If you're not sure of your BMI - check out the interactive tools on Calorie King. The formula is Weight (kilograms)/{Height(metres) x Height (metres)}.

Lupus