New Delhi: Research released on Wednesday suggests that people experiencing chronic pain may need to concentrate on actively shedding belly or abdominal fat.
The study, published in the open-access journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, revealed that reducing belly fat may help reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain, particularly in women, particularly if it’s at multiple body sites.
Musculoskeletal pain, which affects about 1.71 billion people globally, can affect bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, or muscles.
Previously published research has shown that obesity is associated with musculoskeletal pain, but researchers from the universities of Tasmania and Monash in Australia say it’s unknown if excess fat tissue is linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain at multiple body sites.
“Abdominal adipose tissue was associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain, suggesting that excessive and ectopic fat depositions may be involved in the pathogenesis of multisite and widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain,” said the team.
They suggested reducing abdominal adiposity for chronic pain management.
The study analysed data from 32,409 participants — half (51 percent) were women, and their average age was 55.
All participants underwent MRI scans of their abdomens to measure the amount of fat around the abdominal organs (visceral adipose tissue, or VAT) and the amount of fat just under the skin that can be pinched (subcutaneous adipose tissue, or SAT).
About 638 people were assessed again after two years.
The team found a significant link between the number of chronic pain sites and VAT, SAT, the ratio of the two, and weight (BMI).
The findings showed women were two times more affected compared to men.
The researchers explained that sex differences in fat distribution and hormones may explain why women are more affected.
However, they noted, “This is an observational study, and as such, can’t establish cause and effect”.
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–IANS
