Arthritis Could Be Linked To Obesity, Study Finds

KYW's Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There is new research in the journal Arthritis Care that obesity could be linked to arthritis. This is the most recent of several studies that have looked into this.

In a study that looked at patients as far back as World War II and compared results, it was found
that young people are reporting arthritis at an earlier age.

This study, based in Toronto, Canada, found that the problem got worse with added weight.

Severely obese people were 2.5 times more likely to report arthritis than people with normal
weight.

Reviewing data across successive 18-year spans over a 70-year time frame, the scientists compared how prevalent arthritis was in succeeding generations and found that, at the same ages, those in each successive generation were more likely to report arthritis than their predecessors.

The researchers, along with many others around the world, are looking at reasons behind the link
between obesity and joint issues.