According to a clinical trial co-authored by a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researcher and published in the January 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine losing weight can help women reduce urinary incontinence.

Urinary incontinence a problem that affects more than 13 million women in the United States is a loss of bladder control. This could be due to a variety of reasons including pregnancy, childbirth, bladder irritation or infection, and aging bladder muscles.

The study called the Program to Reduce Incontinence by Diet and Exercise (PRIDE), was conducted in Birmingham, Ala., and Providence, R.I., and was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK)  and the Office of Research on Women’s Health(ORWH). 338 obese women who had bladder control problems and leaked urine at least 10 times per week were recruited in the study. 

The women were divided into two groups where one group underwent a six month weight loss program of diet, exercise and behavior modification while the second group was provided information on diet and exercise but were given no additional help in reducing weight.

The researchers noted that the women in the weight loss group lost an average of 8 % of their body weight, which was about 17 pounds and reported that their weekly urinary incontinence episodes dropped by 47 %. The women in the second group lost an average of 1.6 % of their body weight or about 3 pounds and reported to have 28 % fewer episodes of incontinence.

“Clearly, weight loss can have a significant, positive impact on urinary incontinence, a finding that may help motivate weight loss, which has additional health benefits such as preventing type 2 diabetes,” said NIDDK Director Griffin Rodgers.

Delia West, Ph.D., professor of health behavior in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health and one of the original investigators in the trial, said the results indicate that weight loss can be helpful in reducing urinary incontinence and should be a first in the treatment particularly in the case of obese women.  The PRIDE trial provides evidence supporting weight loss as a treatment for incontinence.