Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet: Arthritis Disability and Body Weight

When Margaret started experiencing arthritis pain, she felt she needed to slow down, take it easy to alleviate her discomfort. Somehow, the problem just got worse, and on top of that, she gained more weight. And the more she gained, the more she hurt.

I'm Dr. Caroline Cederquist, giving you the Skinny on Your Health.

Millions of Americans suffer like Margaret and try to avoid inflammation. But reducing overall activity is a recipe for arthritic disaster. The inflexibility and weight gain that follows only make arthritis pain progressively worse.

Research shows that incidence of not just discomfort, but actual disability due to arthritis rises markedly as weight goes up. Heavier people get arthritis more, get it earlier, and experience greater impairments to mobility and activity because of it. Arthritis disability costs among overweight people are staggering.

Yet researchs shows even minor weight loss has significant impact in reversing disability caused by arthritic conditions.

So there's real hope amid the pain. And if a few committed dietary changes are what it takes to be able to move again, that's a small price to pay for freedom.