A Matter Of Fat

Experts explain some surprising ways your arthritis can affect your weight – and how to tip the scales in your favor.

- Emily Delzell

Squeezing into a pair of jeans or glimpsing yourself in a recent photograph may leave you wondering, “How did I gain all this weight?” It might be a straightforward case of taking in more calories than you burn, but your arthritis might also be to blame – the disease process, the effects it has on your lifestyle or even the medications you take for it can play into changes in body weight and body composition.

What’s clear is that excess fat – especially when paired with muscle loss – is bad for you in many ways. Not only does it increase the risk for many rheumatic conditions, including osteoarthritis (OA), fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but it also can worsen disease-related damage and pain by increasing pressure on joints and raising body-wide inflammation.

Additionally, excess fat affects disease outcomes. People with RA and PsA who are obese are less likely than those who aren’t obese to reach low disease activity, even when they’re taking the same medications (although experts aren’t sure exactly why). Overweight people with OA often need a total joint replacement years earlier than do those who are a healthy weight. And people with fibromyalgia who are obese have more pain as well as worse physical function and quality of life than those who weigh less.

Too much body fat also raises the risk for other serious conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even some cancers – and it makes doing any physical activity harder.