Obesity
Obesity directly causes stress on the joints, especially knee joints and hips. In addition, excess weight directly affects and causes inflammation in the joints, slowly deteriorating the tissues surrounding the joints.
Based on studies, even if a person is only ten pounds overweight, the excess poundage already puts an extra pressure of about 15 to 50 pounds on the joints. Scientists say this is enough to put the person at risk of developing osteoarthritis. However, the condition will potentially worsen if the person already has osteoarthritis. Further, the excess fat can hasten the destruction of the cartilage in the joints.
Being obese stresses the joints, and as a person gets heavier, the damage to the joints increases exponentially. In addition, osteoarthritis can misalign the knees. Thus, people with osteoarthritis have difficulty walking, bending their knees to pick up things, or going up and down the stairs.
People do not walk on their hands, yet the joints of the hands can also break down. According to doctors, the cause is a group of proteins produced by fat cells and released into the body. These proteins cause inflammation. They travel throughout the body, causing inflammation, including on the joints not stressed by weight, such as the hands.
