According to a new study published in the European Journal of Health, men who suffer from sensory loss, especially, hearing loss are more likely to be suffering from obesity and are less active as compared to women with the same sensory loss. The study analyzed data from more than 23000 Spanish adults and examined associations with physical inactivity and obesity in people with vision and hearing loss, and explored many differences between men and women. The report suggests that people who are suffering from hearing loss are 1.78 times more likely to have the problem of obesity compared to those who are not having any hearing loss. In people who had vision-related difficulties, the odds ratio is slightly smaller, and the possibility of obesity is 1.375 times higher than those who don’t have any vision loss-related issues.
The association between physical activity and obesity was found more in men who were suffering from hearing loss, and they were 2.319 times more likely to be obese than women who reported hearing problems. The likelihood of obesity in people who were having vision loss was approximately 1.556 times higher in inactive men than in women. People suffering from both hearing and visual disorders had the highest occurrence of sedentary lifestyles (44.8%) and obesity (26.1%). The analysis showed a significant association between physical inactivity and obesity in men with vision or hearing loss but not in women. Around 64% of people are overweight in Spain, with 26% of people reporting as obese. In the UK, the numbers are pretty similar at about 64% and 28%, respectively, suggesting strong similarities between countries. 11.04% of the people surveyed reported vision and hearing loss, 6.96% of hearing loss, and 3.93% of vision and hearing loss. Our study clearly shows that there are significant differences between the genders. Although women were slight physically fit and active than men, we found an organization between physical inactivity and obesity in men, but not in women. This suggests that exercise and physical activity play a significant role in preventing obesity in men, especially for people with vision and hearing loss.
