Guys with Guts

Photo: Justin Sullivan Getty Images

A 2005 Finnish study made a correlation between obesity in adult men and low back disk degeneration. Researchers looked at the disks of guys from varying walks of life -- construction workers, office workers, machine drivers and carpenters -- by taking MRIs of their spines. Those who were persistently overweight for a period of 4 years showed an increased risk for degenerative disk disease in the lumbar area.

The study participants were grouped according to age – middle aged and young adults. The researchers found that the younger heavyweights placed an even greater risk on the disks of their low backs than did the middle aged men. A total of 129 men were measured.

And, in a recent review of medical literature published by the Department of Veteran Affairs Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, a relationship between increases in body weight and low back pain, along with osteoarthritis and other painful conditions was found.

| Degenerative Disk Disease | Lumbar Spine | Diagnostic Imaging Tests | The Intervertebral Disk |