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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Is being overweight associated with heartburn?

    Related Topic
    Heartburn/GORD
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  • Arlene Normand

    Dietitian

    Arlene is a registered practising dietitian, with a private practice in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, and has built a strong business over the last … View Profile

    There have been studies that have shown that being overweight, especially around your middle, can increase your chance of experiencing heartburn. This increases your risk for a number of reasons:

    • There is more pressure against your stomach
    • With this increased pressure on the stomach, stomach contents may be pressing against the lower oesophageal sphincter (LES)
    • If there is increased pressure against the LES, it may open when it shouldn't, and can allow stomach acid and other stomach contents to back up into the oesophagus

    Does this mean if you lose weight you'll never experience heartburn again? Not necessarily, especially if your heartburn is caused by other conditions, such as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or ifcertain foods trigger heartburn. There are also people who suffer from heartburn who have never been overweight. But if you are overweight or obese, losing weight is good for you even if the heartburn episodes don't entirely disappear. Studies have found when patients lose even 5 to 10 percent of their excess weight, they begin to have fewer heartburn episodes.

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