Being obese makes life more difficult, that’s for
sure. Type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,
and digestive issues plague the obese without respite. Now comes research that
indicates that obesity may play a role in rheumatoid arthritis. Here’s what you
should know.
Rheumatoid arthritis causes painful swelling in joints,
especially in fingers. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body
mistakenly attacks the joint tissues, leading to inflammation and pain. That makes
it different from osteoarthritis, which is caused by friction in the joint from
normal activity, sort of a “wear and tear” disease.
Dr. Eric Matteson is a rheumatologist at the Mayo Clinic.
He led a research study that investigated a possible connection between obesity
and rheumatoid arthritis. His theory was that estrogen secreted by fat cells
triggered, or helped trigger, the autoimmune response that was the foundation
of rheumatoid arthritis. This was supported by the accepted observation that
women are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as men.
The research followed 813 patients with rheumatoid
arthritis and 813 people without. Both groups provided their medical histories
for examination. They attempted to
adjust the data to exclude other health factors, such as smoking cigarettes. The
study found that people who were obese were 25% more likely to develop
rheumatoid arthritis than people who were not obese.
So, does this mean that losing weight will cure
rheumatoid arthritis? Not really, unfortunately. There is anecdotal evidence
that losing a substantial amount of weight, if obese, can reduce your joint
inflammation, but medical research is not there yet. But given the broad range of medical issues
that can improve when dropping from obesity to a normal weight, why not give it
a try?
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