Maintaining a healthy weight may help you improve bladder control, as obesity and excess weight puts extra pressure onto the bladder. With added stress onto the abdominal area, the muscles that keep urine from leaking are stretched and weakened. This can lead to stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which typically occurs during physical activity such as lifting heavy objects, laughing, sneezing, or coughing. Women are more at risk for this type of incontinence, especially after childbirth and menopause.
Fortunately, studies have found that losing weight can significantly decrease stress incontinence symptoms. For example, a 2009 study involving 338 overweight and obese women with at least 10 urinary incontinence episodes per week. Results showed that those who were in the 6-month weight loss program group had a 47% decrease in the average weekly number of incontinence episodes compared with a 28% decrease in the group of women who only participated in education sessions about urinary incontinence. The study also found that the weight loss group had a greater decrease in the frequency of stress incontinence episodes.
Less weight means less pressure on the bladder, so it’s important to stay active and eat right. Not only will weight loss help with bladder leakage, but it can also decrease the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and other health conditions.
