Obesity lowers the age for knee replacements

A recent research found that more than half of Australians who underwent knee replacement for osteoarthritis were obese, thereby increasing their risk of having the operation at a younger age, especially among women.

A study by The University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS) compared data of 56, 217 patients who underwent a knee replacement for osteoarthritis (OA), out of which 57.7% were obese.

It was observed that obese women aged 55–64 years were up to 17.3 times more likely to undergo a knee replacement than their healthy weight counterparts, while obese men in the same age group were up to 5.8 times more likely.

Obese patients with the highest BMI ratio were also seven years younger on average when they had a knee replacement, compared to normal weight individuals.

Modest weight loss was found to effectively reduce knee osteoarthritis symptoms, and obese patients who maintained a 10% body weight loss experienced significant improvement in pain and function.

Therefore, by 2030, it's expected more than 161 thousand knee replacements will be conducted annually. Hence, urgent action is needed at a national level to change the approach towards reducing obesity.