By Guest Contributor

World Kidney Day – Kidney Disease and Obesity

Feb 17, 2017 | 6:52 AM

Every year in March we celebrate ‘World Kidney Day’. The kidneys are two of the most remarkable and important organs in the body, but many people do not know why. Our kidneys filter wastes from the blood, balance fluid levels, make urine, produce hormones to regulate blood pressure and help the body make red blood cells, and turn Vitamin D into a form that helps the body use Calcium.

It is important for people to know the risks for developing chronic kidney disease—a condition that may lead to kidney failure and the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.

The theme of this year’s campaign is obesity and its effect on kidney health. According to the Canadian Obesity Network, one in every four adults and one in every 10 children has clinical obesity. An additional 40% or more Canadians are overweight. Overweight and obesity are the biggest causes of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and many heart diseases.

These diseases happen to be the main causes of chronic kidney disease worldwide. Aside from this, researchers now know that being overweight or obese puts a lot of strain on the kidneys—they have to filter more wastes and work harder to regulate blood pressure. Conditions can also develop where fat builds up in the kidneys and their filters are destroyed over time.

Overweight people who develop other kinds of genetic kidney diseases have much worse outcomes than those who are a healthy body weight but get the same autoimmune or genetic kidney disease. Lastly, extra weight in the abdominal area can cause too much pressure to build up restricting blood flow to the kidneys. If the kidneys get too much blood flow or not enough they are at risk of damage that cannot be reversed.

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The good news is that both obesity and chronic kidney disease are preventable in many people. This is done by following a few basic rules for chronic disease prevention such as: getting some exercise every day, quitting smoking, limiting your alcohol intake, keeping track of your blood pressure, and getting support from a healthcare professional. When it comes to obesity and weight loss, this is a chronic condition that is not any easier to manage than diabetes or heart disease.

A huge focus needs to be on proper nutrition, physical activity, and figuring out what really caused the weight gain.

For more information about kidney disease and to assess your level of risk, speak to your healthcare provider or visit the Kidney Foundation of Canada website at www.kidney.ca/risk-assessment .

Submitted by:

Kidney Health Community Program, St. Paul’s Hospital, Saskatoon, SK

by Guest Contributor

World Kidney Day – Kidney Disease and Obesity

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