No need to cringe. I’m not about to go on another tear about obesity……but I did run across a rather interesting phenomenom in an article today. The premise is that PSA readings in obese men can be falsely lower because they have a larger volume of plasma, thus “decreasing serum concentrations of soluble tumor markers – a phenomenon known as hemodilution”.

We’ve discussed plenty of issues where obesity is a contributing factor in causing collateral health issues, but this is the first time I’ve seen a study that suggests that being overweight might somehow mask a health issue.

If the theory of hemodilution is correct, obese men are at risk of not having prostate cancer detected as early as their smaller counterparts. We’ve discussed plenty of times how early detection is one of the keys to successful treatment.

Bottom line. Obesity is not your friend. It can cause or compound numerous health issues and make the whole issue of getting life insurance far more complicated than it needs to be.