Knee osteoarthritis can be a debilitating condition which often results in the loss of mobility and general function whilst causing severe pain. It has been reported that for every 5 pounds that one is overweight, the chances of developing osteoarthritis doubles.
A study in 2004 was designed to determine whether long-term exercise and dietary weight loss were more effective, either separately or in combination, than usual care in improving physical function, pain, and mobility in older overweight and obese adults with knee OA.
1)It was found that the diet plus exercise group had significant improvements in self reported physical function, knee pain, stair climbing and general walking where as the group that just did exercise only had significant improvements in walking. It was surprising to find that the group that just went on the weight loss diet alone performed no better than the group which had no intervention.
In conclusion, “the combination of modest weight loss plus moderate exercise provides better overall improvements in self-reported measures of function and pain and in performance measures of mobility in older overweight and obese adults with knee OA compared with either intervention alone.” (Messier SP, Loeser RF, Miller GD, Morgan TM, Rejeski WJ, Sevick MA, Ettinger WH Jr, Pahor M, Williamson JD; Exercise and dietary weight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis: the arthritis, diet, and activity promotion trial; Arthritis & Rheumatism 2004 May;50(5):1501-1010)
