Does Weight Loss Help Arthritis?

Does weight loss help arthritis patients? It’s all explained here, so keep reading…!

Do you think that knee arthritis is unavoidable with aging, or because of your genetics?

You might want to think again, especially if you’re overweight. The truth is, there is a connection between weight and knee arthritis.

Studies show that as body mass increases above the ideal range, risk of osteoarthritis developing in the knees increases proportionately, and dramatically.

So, Does Weight Loss Help Arthritis? Consider this!

“Being only 10 pounds overweight increases the force on the knee by 30-60 pounds with each step.”

The Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center has done extensive clinical work with patients who have developed arthritis in the knees.

The additional weight and functional stress placed on these load-bearing joints breaks down the bone, cartilage, and tendon tissues significantly faster in the obese than those of normal body weight.

This damage becomes an inflammatory condition enveloping the entire joint, causing pain and difficulty healing.

However, losing weight reducing the  stress placed on your joints thereby helping to reduce arthritis pain.

Age isn’t the Culprit

The Framingham study, which is considered the landmark research project in this field, noted that individuals in their 20s were showing clear signs of osteoarthritic damage in the knee joints.

These damages were caused by too much exercise or exercising the wrong way.

So, people who are very active in exercise and sports, especially in their younger years, need to take care to improve the protection of their knee joints, as well.

Damage can be cumulative, and healing takes longer than you might think.  With additional body weight, it becomes even more important to carefully choose the best types of exercise that can help keep the knee joints healthy.

The Most Important Step is to Lose the Weight

Every 11 pounds of bodyfat lost in pursuit of a healthy weight decreases the risk for osteoarthritis of the knees by a whopping 50 percent.

No matter how much you have to lose, using 11 pound goals is easy to remember and is a small enough number that it’s realistic for a relatively short time.

Choose exercises that are low-impact for your knees, such as walking, using an elliptical machine, body weight exercises that don’t involve jumping, and using proper form when doing resistance training.

These activities have a double whammy of helping you with weight loss and increasing the health of your joints.

Good Nutrition will Help Tie Your Goals Together

There are some things to keep in mind when making food choices. A good food plan will help you both lose the weight and strengthen your joints.

Choosing foods high in vitamin D may help the health of your joints, and has been linked to weight loss.

Some types of seaweed are high in minerals including calcium that will help you make progress on both conditions.

It’s also helpful to include as many vegetables as you can, since you’ll boost the amount of nutrition you get while replacing empty calories. Thus helping your body take care of those joints, and helping melt off that extra body fat.