Apples for Health- Obesity, big belly linked to restless legs

Obesity, big belly linked to restless legs

BOSTON, April 7 (UPI) -- Both obesity and a large belly appear to increase the risk of developing restless legs syndrome, U.S. researchers said.

It's estimated that 5 percent to 10 percent of U.S. adults have RLS, a common sleep disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move one's legs.

Study author Dr. Xiang Gao of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues questioned 65,554 women and 23,119 men, all of whom were health professionals who took part in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study or the Nurses' Health Study II.

None of the participants had diabetes, arthritis or were pregnant. Of the groups, 6.4 percent of the women and 4.1 percent of the men were identified as having RLS.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, found men and women with a body mass index score of 30 or more were nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to have RLS than people who were not obese.

In addition, people who were in the top 20 percent of the group for highest waist circumference were more than one-and-a-half times more likely to have RLS than those in the bottom 20 percent of the group with the lowest belly size. The results were the same regardless of age, smoking, use of antidepressants or anxiety