Now is the time to shed some extra kilograms off your frame, folks! A new research states that if one looses 10% weight, then the nagging knee pain can be lessened. This weight lossalso helps in improving mobility and helping the people with heavy weight to walk faster.
When the cartilage of the knee joint breaks down then one suffers from the chronic medical condition called osteoarthritis says the Arthritis Foundation. The part of the joints that provide cushioning to the bone ends and prevents them from rubbing against each other is called the cartilage. This rubbing results in loss of movement, stiffness and severe joint pain.
Data shows that nearly 250 million people all over the globe suffer from the painful osteoarthritis that has resulted in a poor quality of life due to a loss of mobility. The researchers say that if the heavy weight people suffering from osteoarthritis and knee problems lose about 10% of their body weight their walking speed can become better. This weight reduction helps in providing some relief from knee pain . Obesity and biochemical reasons are considered to be one of the main factors that lead to osteoarthritis.
Stephen Messier, a professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. feels that knee osteoarthritis, that attacks a large number of elderly people is one of the main causes of disability in them and stated a weight reduction “can help people with knee osteoarthritis who are overweight or obese maintain their independence and have a good quality of life for the long term,” he says.
The research study
Messier and his team collected a sample of 454 obese and overweight people who were roughly more than 55 years of age with a sedentary lifestyle and were suffering from knee osteoarthritis and collected their study data from them in a period of 18 months . The researchers made three groups and handed out one pattern to each group – diet and exercise plan, exercise only plan and a diet only plan.
Exercise that included walking and strength training, of one hour daily for 3 days in a week was recommended for the exercise group for a period of 18 months. Women who were given diet programs were recommended a calorie restricted but balanced diet of about 1100 calories daily and the men were asked to take a diet of 1200 calories. The diets were customized according to the participants of the study. The exercise and diet group was given both the recommendations.
Results of the study
The diet and exercise group walked faster showed lesser knee pain and were able to tackle the daily living activities like getting out of chairs and walking up stairs. They showed a pain reduction of about 51% as compared to those people in the exercise group who showed a 28% reduction in pain. In comparison with these the people who were on the recommended diet pattern depicted a 25% reduction in pain.
