Overweight people have a doubled risk of osteoarthritis in the knees, according to a new review of past studies. Scientists looked at 47 cases including 450,000 participants in a review of studies that were originally meant to calculate the arthritis cases that would be avoided if people werent overweight.
They found that overweight people were twice as likely to experience osteoarthritis. Obese people had a four times increased risk.
Scientists calculated that half the cases of osteoarthritis in the U.S. could be prevented if the subjects were of normal weight.
In people over the age of 55, 10 percent experience severe knee arthritis in America, and others have chronic knee pain. The study suggests that this high incidence rate is largely a result of Americas overweight and obese population and that the numbers would look much different if American were closer to normal size.
Experts say that extra weight loaded on the knees can cause the breakdown of cartilage that leads to inflammation and pain. They say prevention through weight control is key to addressing the condition.
