A new study out of the University of Calgary is looking to see if there is a connection between weight distribution and kidney disease.

Researchers have already linked obesity and sleep apnea to deteriorating kidney function but now they are looking at whether excess weight alone has a harmful effect.

Scientists are looking for participants with varying body types who do not have sleep apnea to take part in the study.

“Diabetes and high blood pressure are two of the biggest risk factors for kidney damage but a growing body of research now suggests that how weight is distributed may affect kidney function,” said Dr. Sofia Ahmed, a nephrologist and principal investigator in the study. “Anything that creates extra wear and tear on the kidneys can contribute to a loss in function, in the same way that a car that’s driven hard over time can’t continue to perform at the same high level. In our study, we hope to learn more about what the relationship may be between increased weight and how it is distributed, such as apple or pear shapes, and kidney function.”

Arlene MacCallum says her father died at a young age because of kidney disease and says it is easy to take part in studies like this.

“It’s a small thing to do and it was literally painless other than the few needles that were in your arm, blood pressure taken, basically I was just resting,” said MacCallum. “It was very easy to do and I think that anyone that’s concerned about a lot of physical discomfort, I think they can be sure that it won’t happen.”

Researchers will be focusing on the renin-angiotensin system and looking to see if extra weight has an impact on it. They will also be examining how hard the kidneys have to work to keep a person’s blood clean.

“I think that everything that we do to our bodies or how things end up, our shape ends up, you don’t realize what an impact that can have on our various organs in our body and I think it’s a great place to start to make people more aware that we need to keep ourselves healthy,” said MacCallum.

“We thought we should take a step back and not just measure body mass index and say okay, here’s your BMI and therefore this is what your kidney blood flow is, we need to look at this a little more specifically, how does a person carry their weight? Do they carry it around the waist or around the hips?” said Dr. Ahmed.

Dr. Ahmed says they have preliminarily evidence that shows that there does seem to be differences depending on how people carry their weight and that the study will help to verify those findings.

Anyone interested in taking part in the study should contact the research co-ordinator at 403-210-7434 or email at dsola@ucalgary.ca.