Weight loss may reduce arthritis disability

 

Overweight adults with osteoarthritis who lose just five percent of their body weight can reduce the amount of physical disability associated with this most common form of inflammatory joint disease.

It is more or less proven now that the most effective thing, for osteoarthritis of the knee, is weight loss. As such, weight reduction therapy in overweight osteoarthritic patients is a very appealing goal, both with regards to disease-specific pain and disability reduction as well as for overall health benefits such as cardiovascular risk reduction.

Researchers from the HS Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, searched various databases to identify studies involving patients with knee osteoarthritis who experienced a change in weight. Of the 4 studies that met their criteria, they found that study participants experienced less pain and disability upon losing weight. The association between the study participants' weight loss and their reduced physical disability seemed convincing.

In fact, computer models predicted that a weight loss of at least 5 percent, within a set time period, would significantly reduce physical disability in overweight individuals with osteoarthritis. A weight loss of 10 percent, however, results in moderate -to-large improvement in self-reported physical disability.

In light of the above findings, the researchers advise overweight individuals to lose 10 percent of their weight within two months. In so doing, the knees will last longer.