A new study conducted by the UCSF, University of California at San Francisco, Brown University and the University of Alabama revealed that weight loss reduces stress incontinence in obese women.

The PRIDE, Program to Reduce Incontinence by Diet and Exercise, randomly assigned 338 obese women aged between 42 and 64 years of age with at least 10 episodes of stress incontinence per week.

These women were then divided into two groups, one was an intensive 6-month weight-loss program that included group diet, exercise, and behavioural modification sessions and the other was a control group who received weight loss information but no rigorous guidance.

Results were rather impressive, the control group had lost on average 3 pounds each while the guided group lost on average 17 pounds each; the control group experienced a 28% reduction in stress incontinence episodes while the guided group reported a 70% reduction in stress incontinence episodes not to mention a lower volume of urine leaked and, overall, less of a problem with incontinence.

As a conclusion, researchers stated that weight loss is extremely effective for the treatment of stress incontinence and that weight loos should be a first line of treatment for incontinence in obese and overweight women.