Weight Loss
Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the management of osteoarthritis in adults who are obese or overweight demonstrates interventions including physical activity and diet produces the most beneficial results.
Weight loss has been identified as one of the main interventions that will improve osteoarthritis of the weight bearing joints. Research comparing obese/non-obese individuals demonstrated a 13-fold increase in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) among the heaviest subjects.
Research demonstrates that studies describing overweight people with radiological evidence of knee (OA) who, upon losing 10 to 12 pounds on average, reported a 30%improvement in knee pain and experienced 24% improvement in their ability to perform daily activities.