Study Shows Relationship Between Adolescent Obesity and MS

By Rachel Stockton

A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health has discovered a relationship between teenage obesity and an increased risk for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) later in life.

The study, a massive one, lasted for 40 years; researchers gathered data from 238,000 nurses who took part in a survey that looked at lifestyle, diet and health factors.   Of those nurses, 598 were diagnosed with MS at some point.

Those women who were obese at the age of 18 (BMI of 30 or larger) had twice the risk of developing MS than more slender women had.  Interestingly, there seems to be no association between obesity in childhood or adulthood and an increased risk for developing MS.

Prior research has shown that obesity is marked by a deficiency in vitamin D levels, while high levels of vitamin D has been associated with a decreased risk for MS.

MS is a progressive, neurological condition marked by a loss of nerve fibers and their protective myelin sheath in the spinal cord and brain (BBC News).  Those suffering from the disease experience difficulty in muscular strength, vision, balance, feeling and thinking.

Because MS destroys the myelin sheath, some experts believe it is an autoimmune disease; such diseases are characterized by the body’s immune system turning on the body by destroying healthy cells (WebMd).

The Harvard researchers iterate that more study and analysis will be needed to determine exactly how and why adolescent obesity increases risk for MS. 

According to the CDC, 400,000 Americans have MS.