Obesity and Osteoarthritis - A Clear Path to Joint Pain and Damage

Being obese is the most common cause of osteoarthritis and pain in the joints. In other words, the heavier your weight, the more susceptible you are to such health problems. Of course, osteoarthritis is more common among the elderly. Still, being overweight can greatly reduce the age at which you might develop this disease.

Osteoarthritis is caused by the wearing out of the substance between the joints which is called cartilage. Once it is no longer there, the bones start rubbing against one another thus causing a great amount of pain. Just think about the pain in your wrists, knees and your spine.

It is only natural to conclude that the heavier we are, the more loaded our joints are. Being overweight, however, does not harm your joints only mechanically. According to research the abdominal fat produces chemicals that may cause joint inflammation.

Contemporary life seems to do its best to serve osteoarthritis. The sedentary lifestyle affects mostly the lumbar region of the back, as it is the one body area that undergoes the greatest pressure. Factors such as ageing, sitting all day long in the office in that uncomfortable chair and bending over the computer for hours are enough to cause you back pain. Just think about adding obesity to the picture.

The lumbar region (the lower area of your spine) consists of five lumbar vertebrae, which are separated by five intervertebral discs. These discs help the bones remain a little bit apart, not allowing them to rub against one another and basically act like shock absorbers. What they actually do is to absorb the weight of the body and its muscles and ligaments.

Another one of the discs' functions is to allow movement in the waist. It permits the spine to bend or twist. As you may guess, the lack of movement and sedentary way of life often cause the muscles to weaken. Of course, this is one of the problems of contemporary life and especially of white-collar jobs. Adding obesity to the equation does not help your body cope with these issues. It is quite the opposite.

So the advice is to exercise more. This would prevent or lessen the pain in the back and joints and help you lose weight. Of course, being obese obstructs exercising, but there are a number of ways to strengthen your muscles without straining them. Swimming and walking are only some of the possibilities.