Many adults living with obesity and knee arthritis are told by health professionals to lose weight to help their knee pain. However this recommendation is simplistic, leaving many patients frustrated and with limited or no access to effective and ongoing weight-management support. Further, there is uncertainty if losing weight is the best advice for patients with more advanced-stage knee arthritis. There are risks associated with unsupervised or rapid weight loss related to inadvertent loss of muscle mass. Muscle and strength are essential for function, mobility, and independent living as we age, and are particularly important for maintaining quality of life for individuals with arthritis. Muscle that is lost alongside fat during weight loss is often not regained, and patients may end up with a body composition profile that could have lasting detrimental impacts on their health and wellness. Therefore, a focus on keeping and improving patients’ muscle mass may be an important treatment goal.
Our research team thinks that this strategy may be more beneficial for patients with moderate-to-severe knee arthritis compared to weight loss advice. We are preparing to develop and test a treatment intervention that uses this approach by focusing on nutrition, exercise and chronic disease self-management.
However, we need your voice!
We want to involve patients in the planning and development of this project. This is an opportunity for you to contribute to improving treatment options for patients with knee arthritis. Your input is essential to ensure the right questions are answered, and the treatment will be developed to meet patient needs.
We have created an online survey to engage with patients and gather perspectives on this proposed intervention. If you have knee arthritis, are over age 40, and have a body mass index (BMI) ≥35 kg/m2, we invite you to complete the survey and get involved with this project:
We thank everyone who is willing to participate, and ask you to please share this link with others who may be interested.
If you have any questions about this project, please contact Kristine Godziuk at godziuk@ualberta.ca
Dr. Kristine Godziuk is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta working with Dr. Mary Forhan. Kristine’s research aims to improve treatment outcomes and healthcare services for adults living with obesity and osteoarthritis.
