Higher Than Ideal Weight Tied to Higher Risk for Low Back Pain Diagnosis
MONDAY, Jan. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals with higher than ideal body weight or body mass index (BMI) have an increased risk for low back pain (LBP), according to a study published online Dec. 19 in Pain Medicine.
Michael D. Perloff, M.D., Ph.D., from Boston University, and colleagues assessed the prevalence of LBP over a continuous BMI range in a large, general patient population. The analysis included 159,609 adult first-encounter outpatients seen at Boston Medical Center clinics (June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022).
The researchers found that 12 percent of patients received at least one diagnostic code for LBP. Within a BMI range of 16 to 35 kg/m2, the percentage of patients with LBP codes increased linearly (r2 = 0.93) with slope 0.49, indicating a 6.7 percent relative increase in the likelihood of LBP per unit of BMI. For the weight range of 90 to 240 pounds, a similar linear increase was seen with slope 0.056 (r2 = 0.94), indicating a 7.4 percent relative increase in the likelihood of LBP per 10 pounds, followed by relative plateauing. Findings persisted for both sexes. Height was not an independent risk factor for LBP.
"While medications, formal physical therapy, and other treatments can help, correcting risk factors, such as smoking or deconditioning, also help LBP," Perloff said in a statement. "The current study suggests weight control and maintaining a lower BMI in the healthy range can be beneficial for LBP symptoms as well."