EXCESS BODY WEIGHT CAN AFFECT YOUR KNEES

Obesity and overweight can affect health in many ways. But do you know: Excess body weight can also wreak havoc on your knees.

Osteoarthritis, also called wear-and-tear arthritis – is a condition in which the cartilage or natural cushioning between joints wears away. This causes the joints to rub more closely against one another since there are fewer shock-absorbing benefits of cartilage.

Advancing age, repetitive stress injury at work (from prolonged lifting of heavy weights and squatting), athletic sports (tennis, soccer and long-distance running), and genetic factors can put you at risk of osteoarthritis (OA).

So can obesity and being overweight. Our body’s weight is significantly connected to the health of our joints. A person with obesity is around 60% more likely to develop arthritis than someone of normal body weight.

Excess weight is especially a major factor for knee OA. Every kilogram of extra weight you carry places in 4-5 kg of extra pressure on your knee joint.

There is currently no treatment which can show progression or prevent knee OA. But in studies, overweight women who lost 5kg of body weight reduced their risk of developing knee OA by half.

In knee OA patients, it is reported that 20% weight loss can help achieve better clinical outcomes, without any surgical or medical intervention.

What this means: Even small amounts of weight loss can significantly decrease the load on your knees, which can be particularly beneficial for those with knee pain or arthritis.