Can Weight Loss Help Joint Pain?

By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD

Knee and hip pain can be incredibly unpleasant, and you may not be sure where to start to help you feel better. While joint pain has many causes, excess body weight can be a contributing factor for many people.

If weight is related to your joint pain, even modest weight loss may make a difference in how your joints feel and function and improve your quality of life. This article highlights three ways weight, joint health, and nutrition are connected.

1 - More weight means more load on your joints.

Since weight-bearing joints (hips, knees, and ankles) absorb force with walking, running, going up the stairs, and other daily activities, carrying additional body weight increases the load placed on these joints. Over time, this may contribute to or worsen joint pain, even if it’s not the primary cause of the pain.

Losing weight can therefore lighten the load placed on your joints and eventually reduce pain. A randomized controlled trial in adults with overweight/obesity and knee osteoarthritis found that those who combined a healthy diet and exercise had more weight loss, less pain, and better function than those who just followed a diet or exercise program. Losing 10% or more of baseline weight led to greater benefits than losing less than 5%.

2 - Weight loss may help with inflammation.

The joint-health benefits of weight loss may extend beyond reducing mechanical load. Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation in the body. Since inflammation may worsen joint pain, losing weight may lead to less inflammation and relieve pain over time.

The aforementioned study also found that participants assigned to both the intensive diet and intensive diet plus exercise groups had lower concentrations of a blood marker of inflammation (IL-6) compared to those who just followed the exercise program. These results highlight the effects of diet in particular on inflammation.

3 - A structured weight loss meal plan can make healthy eating easier.

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