Obese People Twice As Likely To Go Blind

6 September 2006

The ten million adults and two million children in the UK who are obese are at double the risk of losing their sight, according to a new report published today by the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) supported by Boots Opticians.

The “Feeling great, looking good” report reveals a direct link between obesity and some of the common eye conditions that cause blindness.

Ruth Marks, Director of RNIB Cymru, said: “With a staggering one in five adults and children in the UK now considered to be obese, RNIB believes it is vital that people are made aware of the risks to their sight.”

David Cartwright, Boots Opticians, said: “We estimate that in 2005, only one in four children and a third of adults had an eye test. Research shows that anyone who does not have an eye test at least once every two years is at risk of missing signs of specific eye conditions, or underlying systemic diseases such as high blood pressure or glaucoma, as revealed in the report.

“In response to RNIB’s latest findings, to help promote good eye health and encourage people to have an eye test, Boots Opticians is launching the ‘Big Eye Test week’ from Sunday 3rd to Saturday 9th September 2006. During the Big Eye Test week Boots Opticians will be offering FREE full eye tests for everyone.”

Professional eye tests can pick up problems which can otherwise go undetected, Ruth Marks continued: “Most people wrongly assume that if they don’t have any obvious problems with their sight, that everything must be fine. With the huge increase in obesity that we have seen in recent years, many people are now jeopardising their sight in later life.”

The report states that oxidative damage associated with being obese doubles the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of sight loss in the UK, and accelerates the speed of sight loss. In addition, people who are obese are at up to ten times more likely to develop diabetes, which leads to retinopathy in at least 60 per cent of cases causing irreversible sight loss unless treated early. Finally, for people who are obese the risk of developing cataracts can be as high as double that of people who are not overweight.

The risk of obese children losing their sight later in life is very real given that more than 70 per cent of obese children and more than 85 per cent of obese adolescents become obese adults. The risk of sight loss through diabetes is also particularly high in people from ethnic minority backgrounds (Asian, African and African/Caribbean) who are four to five times more likely to develop diabetes.

Trish Richmond, 42, from Motherwell, Scotland, is blind and blames her sight loss on being overweight. Trish, who is now 17 stone but peaked at 20 stone, has glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy (she also had cataracts) and sees absolutely nothing.

Trish, who is married and has three daughters, said: “I really want people to know how being overweight can lead to blindness. An eye test picked up the fact that I had glaucoma early enough to treat it. From then on I enjoyed around eight years of stable sight. I was still overweight when the second sight threatening condition, diabetic retinopathy, hit me. Being overweight, I also had high blood pressure, which aggravated my glaucoma and combined with having retinopathy left me completely blind and unable to see anything. My message is simple – don’t lose your sight through ignorance – watch your weight and have regular eye tests.”

“Feeling great, looking good” is published as part of RNIB’s Open Your Eyes campaign to end preventable sight loss by 2020. RNIB is currently touring the UK with its “virtual-ageing booth” to promote the role a healthy lifestyle plays in looking after your eyesight.

Ruth Marks said: “Sight is the sense we most fear losing but most people don’t do nearly enough to look after their eyes. To safeguard sight we recommend people maintain a healthy weight, eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, take exercise to improve general health, don’t smoke and most importantly have regular eye tests. Many thousands of people lose their sight each year through conditions that could have been treated if picked up early enough through an eye test.”