Posts Tagged Secondary gout

For the overwhelming majority of people with gout (90%), gout is a genetic disease.  These cases are called primary gout.  In this article will talk about the other 10% – what is called secondary gout.  There is a very long list of causes of secondary gout.  Here I will talk about the most common and the most serious.

Lifestyle

The single most common cause of secondary gout are lifestyle issues.  Lifestyle covers a lot of different areas.  Unfortunately, one of the most common is obesity.  About 60% of Americans are now considered obese and the number is still growing and is the leading reason why the incidence of gout continues to rise.  Being overweight causes the body to create more uric acid but also reduces the bodies ability to eliminate uric acid.  If you have gout and are overweight, the single best thing you can do for your gout, and for your overall health, is to eat a healthy, well balanced, reduced calorie diet, lose weight and exercise regularly (See “The ‘Skinny’ on Gout Diets”).  Of course everyone that is overweight wants to do this but few people are actually successful, myself included.

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