In an interview with the Health Channel, Dr. Ronald Tolchin, Medical Director of the Baptist Health Center for Spine Care, goes over how weight and back pain correlate. Dr. Tolchin states that if you are overweight, you have an increased risk of back pain.

The spine is designed to carry your weight, but when your weight exceeds what is normal for your spine to support, that weight pulls you forward on account of gravity. Your back is still trying to keep you erect so this forward pull caused by your weight puts strain on the muscles of the back and stress on the discs, bones, and joints around the spine, causing pain. 

Since the spine is not designed to handle this amount of stress, it can weaken, in the same way an overweight person’s knees wear out quicker than the knees of someone at a healthy weight. In the back of the spine there are small joints called facet joints. These joints can wear out and the spinal discs can begin to dehydrate and tear. 

Watch the full segment of Dr. Ronald Tolchin talking about the damage being overweight can have on your spine, here: https://youtu.be/brBAOhndxI0