Obesity almost doubles the risk of urinary incontinence (UI) in young and middle-aged women compared with women of normal weight, the authors of a new meta-analysis warn. These findings are significant because those with a history of even mild UI when young are more likely than women without such a history to have increasingly bothersome symptoms as they grow older, and the longer they have the excess weight, the greater the risk of UI, lead author Tayla Lamerton, a PhD candidate in women’s health at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues write. The study was published online September 19 in Obesity Reviews. Once considered a condition of mostly older or multiparous women, UI, defined as the involuntary loss of urine, has become increasingly prevalent in younger and nulliparous women, leading to a search for causes, Lamerton and colleagues explain. Recent research suggests that overweight and obesity may increase the risk of UI in women, possibly because excess abdominal weight places increased pressure on the bladder, which may, in turn, exceed urethral closure pressure leading to urine leakage. They suggest that clinicians “emphasize the role of excess weight on pelvic floor weakening and subsequent risk of incontinence” along with […]