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Celiac.com 05/09/2012 - Weight loss is traditionally regarded as one of the classic symptoms of celiac disease. Recent studies suggest that people with celiac disease are far more likely to be obese than underweight at the time of presentation. A research team recently set out to assess the frequency of obesity in newly diagnosed celiac disease. The research team included Elizabeth Tucker, Kamran Rostami, Sudhakaran Prabhakaran, and Daivid Al Dulaimi. They are affiliated variously with the Institute of Health and Society of Worcester University, School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Worcester, the University of Birmingham, and the department of Gastroenterology at Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, in the United Kingdom. The research team wanted to assess the frequency of obesity in newly diagnosed celiac disease. To do so, they reviewed dietetic records and patient demographic of people with celiac disease, along with initial assessment date, and Body Mass Index (BMI) recorded and statistically analyzed. In all, they reviewed data for 187 celiac disease patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2009. Of those, 127 patients were female (68%) and 60 male (32%), a ratio of 2 to 1. Patients ranged in age from 18 to 87 years of age, with an average age of 54 years. BMI inter-quartile range (IQR) ran from 21.5 to 28.1, with an average BMI of 23.6. IQR was 21.8 to 27.3 for men, with an average BMI of 23.9. For females, the BMI IQR ran from 21.4 to 28.6, with an average of 23.2. Overall, 83 patients (44%) registered a BMI of 25 or above. The team found no significant difference gender, age or year of referral among patients with a BMI of 25 or above. Twenty-five patients (13 %) had a BMI of 30 or above. Of those, twenty were female, and ranged in age from 18 to 71 years old, with an average age of 56 years. In all, 11% of females registered a BMI of 30 or more, compared with only 3% males, a 5 to 1 ratio. Only 5 patients (3%) had a BMI below 18.5. They found that nearly half of those diagnosed with celiac disease registered with a BMI of 25 or over. Compared to males, females showed a wider range of BMI and were more likely to be obese, registering a BMI of 30 or more. Source: J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. March 2012 Vol. 21 No 1, 11-15

Celiac.com 11/29/2006 – Contrary to popular beliefs (not to metion outdated medical training), this study demonstrates that 39% of those who are diagnosed with celiac disease are actually overweight rather than underweight. A full 30% of celiac disease patients were in the obese range at the time of their diagnosis. Unfortunately many medical doctors still wont even consider testing overweight patients for celiac disease because they erronously believe that the disease can only occur in individuals who are underweight. This line of reasoning is outdated and incorrect, and is also very dangerous to those who happen to have celiac disease are are overweight—which is now known to be quite common. For those who want to read more about this topic be sure to have a look at the following articles: Celiac Disease and Obesity—There is a Connection by Melissa Croda Food Cravings, Obesity and Gluten Consumption by Dr. Ron Hoggan, Ed.D. Below is the Abstract for the latest study, which was conducted by William Dickey, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.G.: Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101(10):2356-2359. Overweight in Celiac Disease: Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Effect of a Gluten-Free Diet Posted 11/14/2006 William Dickey, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.G.; Natalie Kearney, B.Sc. Abstract: Background: It is well established that a minority of celiac patients present with classic symptoms due to malabsorption. However, few studies have focussed on the distribution of body mass index (BMI) in celiac populations and its relationship to clinical characteristics, or on its response to treatment. Methods: We reviewed BMI measurements and other clinical and pathological characteristics from a database of 371 celiac patients diagnosed over a 10-yr period and seen by a single gastroenterologist. To assess response to gluten exclusion, we compared BMI at diagnosis and after 2 yr treatment in patients with serological support for dietary compliance. Results: Mean BMI was 24.6 kg/m2 (range 16.3–43.5). Seventeen patients (5%) were underweight (BMI Conclusions: Few celiac patients are underweight at diagnosis and a large minority is overweight; these are less likely to present with classical features of diarrhea and reduced hemoglobin. Failed or delayed diagnosis of celiac disease may reflect lack of awareness of this large subgroup. The increase in weight of already overweight patients after dietary gluten exclusion is a potential cause of morbidity, and the gluten-free diet as conventionally prescribed needs to be modified accordingly.