Losing one kilo of weight may be equivalent to losing 4 kilos of load in your knee-joints for patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee.
Researchers from the Wake Forest University had conducted a long term study on effects of exercise and weight loss on the osteoarthritis of the knee and had reported that an average weight loss of 5% of the body weight in obese elderly patients can reduce the load on the knee joint by about 18%. This means for each 5% weight loss, the functionality of the knees improve by about 18% for osteoarthritis patients.Researchers have reported that moderate weight loss can be of great benefit for arthritis patients. As the load on the knee reduces with weight loss it can improve the quality of life of the patient many fold as it will mean less pain and more effective way of walking and carrying on more easily with the daily activities.
The researchers, who had the participants lose weight through a program of diet alone, exercise alone and the combination of both for some people, report that further studies are requires finding out the effective weight loss program that will cause maximum benefit for the knee joint in patients suffering from osteoarthritis.
Reference: Arthritis & Rheumatism, July 2005
