Obesity-Related Factors in Low Back Pain Studies
Summary
Obesity is acknowledged as a multifactorial contributor to low back pain, with mechanical, metabolic and inflammatory pathways acting in concert. Excess body weight increases axial loading on the lumbar spine and can exacerbate degenerative changes in intervertebral discs and facet joints. Adipose tissue is metabolically active, releasing adipokines that may promote systemic inflammation and sensitize nociceptive pathways. Altered body composition, including increased fat mass and central adiposity, has been linked to both the intensity and chronicity of pain, while distribution of adiposity may influence spinal mobility. Psychosocial and lifestyle factors often intersect with obesity, compounding risk through reduced activity, mood disorders and comorbidities. Recent findings also point to genetic predispositions that modulate the interaction between adiposity and nociception, underscoring the need for personalised prevention and management strategies that address both weight reduction and metabolic health.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Obesity-Related Factors in Low Back Pain Studies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in obesity-related factors in low back pain studies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Body mass index (BMI): A widely used ratio of body weight to height squared, employed to classify underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity.
Adipokine: A bioactive protein secreted by adipose tissue that modulates inflammatory and metabolic processes.
Mendelian randomisation: An analytical approach using genetic variants as proxies for modifiable exposures to infer causality in observational data.
References
- Common Genetic Factors May Play a Role in the Relationships Between Body Composition, Adipokines, and Low-Back-Pain-Related Disability. Biomolecules (2024).
- Smoking and BMI mediate the causal effect of education on lower back pain: observational and Mendelian randomization analyses. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2024).
- Body Mass Index and Its Influence on Chronic Low Back Pain in the Spanish Population: A Secondary Analysis from the European Health Survey (2020). Biomedicines (2023).
- Fat mass and fat distribution are associated with low back pain intensity and disability: results from a cohort study. Arthritis Research & Therapy (2017).
- The Association Between Obesity and Low Back Pain and Disability Is Affected by Mood Disorders. Medicine (2016).
- Effect of obesity and low back pain on spinal mobility: a cross sectional study in women. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (2010).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.