Weight loss key for arthritic knees
Saturday July 1, 2006
Losing just 5 per cent of their body weight can be enough to ease problems for people caused by arthritic knees, research suggests.
"It is more or less proven now that the most effective thing, if you have osteoarthritis of the knee, is weight loss," said the co-author of one study, Henning Bliddal, of HS Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen.
The researchers looked into studies of people with knee osteoarthritis, who experienced a change in weight.
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 based on those findings, the researchers report.
In fact, computer models predicted that a weight loss of at least 5 per cent, within a set time period, would significantly reduce physical disability in overweight individuals with osteoarthritis, study findings indicate.
A weight loss of 10 per cent, however, "results in moderate-to-large improvement in self-reported physical disability", Dr Christensen noted.
In light of these findings, Professor Bliddal advises overweight individuals "to lose 10 per cent of their weight within two months". The best way to lose the weight is not by simply increasing their level of physical activity, however. "You can't exercise your weight down, you have to do something about your food."
Article
Linear Mode
