Obesity is painful, say the researchers of the Stony Brook University, who found that overweight people tend to feel more pain in comparison to those with a healthy body mass index (BMI).

In a study spearheaded by Arthur Stone, professor of psychiatry and behavioural science at Stony Brook University, it was found that overweight individuals reported 20% higher rates of pain compared to low to normal weight individuals.

Study authors observed that the degree of pain increased with the BMIs: those clinically obese, having a BMI between 30 and 34, experienced 68% more pain; those with a BMI between 35 and 39 suffered 136% more pain; and those with a BMI over 40 reported having 254% more pain.

The study whose findings were published online in the journal Obesity was based on the data collected by telephone surveys of 1,010,762 people conducted by the Gallup organisation.

For the purpose of study, researchers calculated body mass index (BMI) of the respondent based on their height and weight. After evaluating the BMIs, study authors found that 36.8% of people had low or normal body mass index, 38.3% were overweight and 24.9% were considered obese.

The weight-pain relationship held up even after researchers tried to account for the influences of other pain-causing health problems. Surprisingly, the pain experienced by obese individuals was not musculoskeletal.

Explaining the obesity-pain relationship, researchers say that pain can be due to the complex physiological processes or medical conditions that are triggered by excess weight gain. Researchers also suggest medical conditions such as arthritis, might result in weight gain by reducing the level of exercise.