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Chapter 11 SUMMARY
Obesity & BLINDNESS
The DailyMAIL.com reports: It is common
knowledge that expanding waistlines are
linked to conditions such as diabetes, heart
disease and cancer.
But research shows that obesity is also
linked to eye problems which could lead to
sight loss.
Two Israeli ophthalmologists are warning
that the prospect of eye disease should also
be a powerful incentive to lose weight.
Professor Michael Belkin and Dr. Zohar
Habot-Wilner, from the Goldschleger Eye
Institute at the Sheba Medical Centre,
reviewed more than 20 studies involving thousands of patients worldwide.
They said they found a consistently strong link between obesity and the occurrence and development of four
major eye diseases that cause blindness - age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, glaucoma and
diabetic retinopathy.
Prof Belkin, a professor of ophthalmology at Tel Aviv University, said: "The purpose behind this review was
to acquaint physicians and laypeople with the dangers of being fat as related to ophthalmology.
"All of this existing research had never been pulled together in a comprehensive way."
All the common eye diseases can affect sight to some extent, with most sufferers experiencing deterioration
over time.
The main ones highlighted by the researchers were:
• Glaucoma - a group of diseases that can damage the eye's optic nerve, resulting in vision loss and
blindness.
• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - a disease which causes the sharp, central vision to blur,
making some activities such as reading difficult. AMD affects the macula - the part of the eye that
allows you to see fine detail.
• Cataracts - a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision.
• Diabetic retinopathy - a complication of diabetes which is a leading cause of blindness. The condition
occurs when diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels inside the retina - the light-sensitive tissue at the
back of the eye.
The researchers said that although the evidence was out there suggesting a link between obesity and these
conditions, the results were not well known by the public.
IF Government & Medical Authorities Were Right - Why Did Obesity Rise So Rapidly Since 1975 ?
