Osteoarthritis is a group of diseases that affect the joints (where two or more bones meet) leading to inflammation, pain, stiffness, and loss of mobility. It is one of the leading causes of disability in adults, especially the elderly.
There are many types of osteoarthritis, the most common of which include:
- Osteoarthritis (OA): This is the most common form of arthritis, often caused by the natural degeneration of joint cartilage with age or by injury or overuse. Commonly affected areas are the knees, hips, spine, and finger joints.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): This is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the tissues in the joints, causing chronic inflammation. RA can affect multiple joints at the same time and cause joint deformities if not treated promptly.
- Gouty arthritis: Occurs when uric acid builds up in a joint, usually in the big toe, causing severe pain.
- Ankylosing Spondylitis: A chronic inflammatory disease that usually affects the spine and sacroiliac joints, causing back pain and reduced mobility.
Before diving into nutrition strategies, it is important to understand the relationship between weight and arthritis. Arthritis, especially osteoarthritis, is a degenerative joint disease that is caused by the wear and tear of joint cartilage. When the body carries excess weight, especially in the abdomen and hips, the pressure on the knees, hips, and spine increases significantly. According to research, every 1 kg increase in weight increases about 4 kg of pressure on the knee joints when walking. Therefore, overweight or obese people are often at higher risk of arthritis, as well as experiencing more severe pain.
In addition to mechanical effects, excess body fat, especially visceral fat, is also a biological source of inflammation. Fat cells secrete cytokines, adipokines and other inflammatory substances that increase the inflammatory response in the body, contributing to the progression of arthritis.
Therefore, scientific weight loss is an important step in controlling and slowing the progression of the disease.
What are the benefits of weight loss for arthritis patients?
Weight loss brings many practical benefits to people with arthritis, including the following benefits:
- Pain relief and improved mobility: Lightening the burden on joints helps relieve pain quickly.
- Reducing systemic inflammation: Less fat, less cytokines and less inflammation.
- Improving treatment effectiveness: Drugs work better when joints are under less pressure.
- Reducing the risk of surgery: Keeping joints active longer, avoiding artificial joint replacement.
- Improving quality of life: Patients can function normally, walk, live and work as before.
Why is healthy nutrition the top strategy?
Of all weight loss methods, including exercise, sleep adjustment, medication or medical intervention, nutrition is the most fundamental and decisive factor. A reasonable diet can help lose weight sustainably, while supporting the body to control inflammation, improve immune function and protect cartilage.
Advantages of nutritional strategies:
- Non-invasive, easy to implement, suitable for all ages.
- Directly affects weight through adjusting calorie intake.
- Provides anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients that are beneficial for people with arthritis.
- Helps improve overall health: from cardiovascular, digestive to motor function.
Therefore,building and adhering to a scientific diet is considered the number one strategy in weight management for people with arthritis.
In the journey of weight management to control arthritis, a healthy diet is the number one strategy that needs to be prioritized. It not only helps patients lose excess weight sustainably but also contributes to reducing inflammation, protecting joint health and improving long-term quality of life.
To successfully implement this strategy, patients need to build scientific eating habits, persevere and flexibly adjust according to their health condition. At the same time, they should consult a nutritionist to have a suitable and personalized plan. With the right investment in nutrition, people with arthritis can completely control the disease and live a more active and healthy life every day.
