Obesity not linked to prostate enlargement

Obesity and non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, do not seem to be related.Researchers from the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Pasadena found no links between any measurements of body shape or size and BPH. Many people think that obesity and all the different measures of body size and shape are markers for underlying conditions - hormonal balance and genetic makeup - that could be associated with many different diseases.While BPH is not linked to cancer, it can still have serious consequences. The enlarged prostate makes it difficult for older men to empty their bladders completely, which can lead to chronic infections of the urinary tract. It can also lead to acute urinary retention, in which the patient cannot pass any urine. This is an emergency, which requires catheterisation to release urine, and can be a frightening experience.Previous studies on whether obesity increased BPH risk had been inconclusive. To investigate, the researchers looked at a group of more than 2,000 healthy men aged 40 to 79 years, from a county in Minnesota who had been followed for more than 16 years.They found no relationship between obesity, or any other measurement of body shape and size, and the presence of BPH or its progression. The findings suggest that the anthropometric measures are not significantly associated with the presence or progression of BPH.