Arthritis Risk May Be Reduced By Healthy Diet

Osteoarthritis and obesity, it turns out, may go hand in hand. Researchers say joints required to carry extra weight may be more apt to succumb to the painful disease.

But extra weight isn't the only reason, they say. The diet that contributes to obesity may also contribute to osteoarthritis.

“There is a direct correlation with osteoarthritis and the low-fat, high-carb craze that has introduced countless refined, processed and packaged foods at about the same time,” say Dian Griesel, Ph.D. and Tom Griesel, co-authors of a book on the subject. “Compounding the osteoporosis issue is the fact that we move less than ever before.”

Beginning to affect the young

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease and the most common cause of disability today. Once upon a time only the elderly seemed to be affected. Now, it is commonly diagnosed in those as young as the mid-twenties and early thirties.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, about four million, quality-adjusted life years are lost due to knee osteoarthritis alone. The researchers conclude that those who are obese are also more likely to develop advanced, end-stage disease than those who maintain a healthy weight. Both the incidence of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, along with obesity have all risen dramatically in the past fifty years.

Kate Lorig, director of the Patient Education Research Center at Stanford University agrees on the activity front.

“The most dangerous exercise you can do when you have arthritis is none,” Lorig said.

Four-to-one multiplier

Each pound of excess body fat adds the equivalent of four pounds stress to the knees. The authors say studies show that women, who are at higher risk than men, can cut their risk of knee osteoarthritis in half with even small reductions in body weight. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says obesity prevention, physical activity and self-management education are most promising for limiting osteoarthritis damage.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage in the spaces between our joints wears away. This can happen in all body joints. It is estimated that osteoarthritis affects around 27 million Americans and results in almost 635,000 joint replacements a year alone.

Tom Griesel elaborates, “Obesity, osteoarthritis and even osteoporosis are now problem becoming prevalent even for adolescents,” said Tom Griesel. “There is a undeniable connection to poor diet that simply cannot be ignored. The explosion of these refined and processed foods in our diets is causing all kinds of health problems with heart disease and diabetes at the top of the list which are most definitely diet related problems.”

If you are overweight or obese, Griesel says losing weight and adopting a healthy diet, with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, is the best way to reduce your osteoarthritis risk.