During my review and reorganization of the Gout Diet section, I noticed how my old Diet For Gout page was about the benefits of losing weight for gout sufferers. Control of excess calories is important for some gout patients, though probably not as many as is generally believed. There was a lot of useful information on that page, so I reproduce it below.

I will expand the relevant pages in the Gout Diet section to make it clear that a diet for gout must consider different types of foods to avoid (or at least to limit). As excess calories lead directly to extra uric acid from the purines in our own flesh, it pays to consider calorie control. As with all forms of gout treatment and diet changes, your plan must start with gathering information about yourself. This article introduces some tools to help you assess if weight loss needs to be part of your personal gout management plan.

Diet For Gout And Weight Loss

What is the most important part of a diet for gout?

Did you say purines?

Purines are often important – but weight loss can be crucial.
Find out if weight loss will help you.

Gout has been associated with weight gain for centuries, and many studies support this. One significant report looks at Obesity And Gout. It contains many statistics about gout patients compared with people without gout. Most of the report analyzes weight. But for a more practical view, see my tips about Gout and Obesity – Avoid Excess Calories.

The report uses Body Mass Index as the basis for most of its statistics. Before we look at the results, I’ll tell you about Body Mass Index (BMI).

Body Mass Index

BMI is a simple, calculated value that should be used to classify people. It classifies groups of people as underweight, normal, overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. BMI calculation is easy – weight over height squared. But don’t worry about calculations – I’ve provided tables below.

But first, a warning, especially if you see BMI referred to elsewhere. It is often overused and misinterpreted, perhaps due to its simplicity.

Body Mass Index is not a yardstick for ideal weight. Bone structure and muscularity play a large part in determining a healthy weight, yet BMI takes no account of these or any other factors.

However, it is good for statistical comparisons, hence it’s used in several studies. I also believe it gives you a good starting point when you begin to think how a diet for gout can help you.

More of your diet for gout later. Let’s look at the study results first.

Gout And Weight Statistics

The studies results tell us that the risk of gout increases in line with increased BMI.
With a BMI of 25-29.9 (overweight) you are almost twice as likely to get gout than at normal weight (BMI 21-22.9).
With a BMI of 30 to 34.9 (lower half of obese scale) the risk rises to two and a half times more likely to get gout.
Risks rise to an average of 3 times at the upper end of the obese scale (BMI over 35).

Similar results were found in an earlier, much smaller, study that showed how a specific diet for gout could reduce uric acid and weight. Beneficial effects of weight loss associated with moderate calorie/carbohydrate restriction, and increased proportional intake of protein and unsaturated fat on serum urate and lipoprotein levels in gout: a pilot study shows how weight loss over a 12 week period leads to improved uric acid levels and reduced gout flares.

I believe these studies present a good argument for including weight loss targets in your diet for gout. Weight loss is not the only answer, but it is important for most gout sufferers.

BMI Tables For Gout Sufferers

If you need metric tables, please let me know. I haven’t included them as the calculation is very simple – weight(kg) divided by height squared (m2). You can also use a BMI Calculator (see below).

To use the table below, you need to know your weight in pounds. If you use stones and pounds, first use the second table to lookup your weight in pounds.

Find the line that represents your height in the first table. Read across the line for your BMI category. Anything above normal weight suggests that losing weight may help your gout. The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to benefit from losing weight.

Height Normal     Over- weight Obese       Morbidly Obese
Inches Feet Inches
58 4 10 91-118 119-142 143-191 Over 191
59 11 94-123 124-147 148-198 Over 198
60 5 97-127 128-152 153-204 Over 204
61 1 100-131 132-157 158-211 Over 211
62 2 104-135 136-163 164-218 Over 218
63 3 107-140 141-168 169-225 Over 225
64 4 110-144 145-173 174-232 Over 232
65 5 114-149 150-179 180-240 Over 240
66 6 118-154 155-185 186-247 Over 247
67 7 121-158 159-190 191-255 Over 255
68 8 125-163 164-196 197-262 Over 262
69 9 128-168 169-202 203-270 Over 270
70 10 132-173 174-208 209-278 Over 278
71 11 136-178 179-214 215-286 Over 286
72 6 140-183 184-220 221-294 Over 294
73 1 144-188 189-226 227-302 Over 302
74 2 148-193 194-232 233-311 Over 311
75 3 152-199 200-239 240-319 Over 319
76 4 156-204 205-245 246-328 Over 328
Stones / Pounds Table
Stones  Lbs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
6 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97
7 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111
8 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125
9 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 159
10 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153
11 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167
12 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181
13 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195
14 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209
15 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223
16 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237
17 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251
18 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265
19 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279
20 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293

Using BMI In A Diet For Gout

The BMI Calculator is being repaired – please search for a temporary calculator that will help identify if excess calories are an issue.

Please note that the BMI calculation only gives indications. If you are particularly athletic, your “normal weight” will be higher. If you lead a very sedentary lifestyle, your “normal weight” will be lower. The table gives a ballpark category that gives you an idea of how losing weight might help you. It does not mean you need to lose X pounds.

Never frighten yourself into thinking you have to lose a set number of pounds. On the GoutPal Diet Plan, we just try to lose a pound or two a week. It’s easy when you just make a few small changes and lose weight slowly. It’s better for you as well – your diet for gout must always avoid rapid weight change.

Avoid Excess Calories with Gout
More flesh means more internal sources of uric acid!

Gout Foods To Avoid: Next Steps

First study the Diet For Gout pages to ensure you are taking the right approach to your gout diet. If you identify excess calorie intake as a potential problem for you, read Gout and Obesity – Avoid Excess Calories.

Do you have any questions about your gout diet? Then, ask for personal gout diet help now.

Leave Gout Foods To Avoid to read Gout and Obesity – Avoid Excess Calories.

Please remember: to find more related pages that are relevant to you, use the search box near the top of every page.

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