Pressure on Joints

Extra pounds are hard on joints. The more you weigh, the more stressed and damaged your joints can become. For example, the knees of healthy-weight people absorb about 1.5 pounds of force with every step. If you add OA to the mix – with the joint misalignment that often goes with it – your knees take even more of a beating. When you go up and down stairs or squat to pick something up, the pressure increases dramatically. A lifetime of movement can take a toll, especially when you’re overweight.

Yet if joint stress is the only cause of arthritis, then why is hand arthritis so common?

“Obviously, you don’t walk on your hands, so there must be something that causes the joint to break down more rapidly than it might otherwise,” says David Felson, MD, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine.

That “something” is a group of proteins that fat cells produce and release into your body, causing inflammation. Fat creates inflammation in addition to the excess stress it puts on your joints. For people with OA, obesity is a one-two punch.