Gastroenterology and Hepatology From Bed to Bench 2011;4(2):41- 42

1In the paper titled “Assessment of the relationship between reflux and body mass index with different regression models ” Pourhoseingholi et al (1), report the results of a population based cross sectional case controlled study (1). The study investigates the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and reflux symptoms. The authors report that they found no correlation between BMI and reflux symptoms using 3 different statistical tools. On initial reflection this study appears to be contradicting the widely accepted belief that reflux is more prevalent in people with high BMI (2). Western population are aging and facing a relentless increase in the prevalence of obesity. Population studies from the United States suggest 15 % of adults aged between 20 and 75 years are obese. Furthermore the incidence of obesity increased at an amazing 5 % per year between the early 1992 and 2005. It is anticipated that by 2020, as a result of increased food intake and reduced physical activity, approximately 40 % of adults will be obese. Coinciding with this temporal increase in obesity there has been an increase in the prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and oesophageal cancer (3). It is only natural that investigators would wonder if the increasing prevalence of obesity is contributing to the increasing prevalence of these two conditions