The unexpected correlation between BMI index and acne vulgaris
It’s common knowledge that a healthy diet can improve skin condition greatly
as there are many products and food supplements that claim to refresh and
nourish the skin while preventing acne, but exactly how much can a conscious
diet affect our skin?
The most common form of acne is Acne Vulgaris which is “a chronic
inflammatory skin disease of pilosebaceous unit“ that many Adolescents
suffer from and deal with on a daily basis which is detrimental to their
mental and psychological health.
Many studies conducted in the last decade show a notable correlation
between different dietary factors (like dairy consumption and high glycemic
load diet) and acne vulgaris as they are thought to increase sebum
production which leads to blocking hair follicles hence causing acne and
spots.
In 2019 a new article published by The Journal of The American Academy of
Dermatology proposed a new idea into the table, that the BMI index level may
have an association with the risk of developing Acne Vulgaris.
The results suggest that in Youths, high BMI index and Obesity are “inversely
associated with acne in a dose-dependent manner” which is odd as a high
calorie diet doesn’t necessarily reflect a healthy nor desirable approach to
reduce acne vulgaris risk but is surely interesting.
The connection between acne vulgaris and the BMI index remains unclear
which provides space for future research to improve the current
understanding.
Written by: Bayan Alhazmi, Medical Student @ KSU
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