The research found men and women with a body mass index (BMI) score over 30 were nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to have RLS than people who were not obese.

In addition, people who were in the top 20 percent of the group for highest waist circumference were more than one-and-a-half times more likely to have RLS than the bottom 20 percent of the group with the lowest belly size. The results were the same regardless of age, smoking, use of antidepressants or anxiety.

"These results may be important since obesity is a modifiable risk factor that is becoming increasingly common in the United States," said study author Xiang Gao, with the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "More research is needed to confirm whether obesity causes RLS and whether keeping a low BMI score and small waist size could help prevent RLS."

Gao said some studies suggest that obese people have lower dopamine receptor levels in the brain. "Since decreased dopamine function is believed to play a critical role in RLS as well, this could be the link between the two." Dopamine is a chemical naturally produced by the body that transmits signals between nerve cells.

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Editor:Yang Jie