Hip replacement may not be on your radarscreen yet. But it’s never too soon to protectyour vulnerable joints by keeping your weightin check. A recent study in the journal Arthritisand Rheumatism found that women who wereobese before the age of 25 were almost threetimes likelier than thin women to eventuallyrequire a hip replacement for severe arthritis.In fact, excess weight at a young age predicteda woman’s eventual need for a hip replacementeven more than being overweight at age55 or older, when joint replacements becomemore common. The authors speculated thathip-joint cartilage may be more subject to theeffects of excess weight in early life.
Women, Weight, and Arthritis
About two out of three adults diagnosed witharthritis are overweight or obese. Indeed,obesity is one of the major risk factors for thisjoint-crippling disease, which affects aboutone-and-a-half times as many women as men.
Unfortunately, in every age group, womenare likelier than men to be overweight orobese. And today’s adults are gaining extraweight at younger ages. A recent study in theAmerican Journal of Public Health found thatwomen and men ages 25 to 44 generally werecurrently as overweight as their parents werewhen their parents were 10 to 20 years older.
Get Your Fill of Vitamin K, Too
In addition to obesity, what you eat also maybe a key, suggests a recent study of womenand men published in the journal Arthritisand Rheumatism. In this study, people withlow blood levels of vitamin K had moreosteoarthritis in their hands and knees thanthose with higher vitamin K levels.
To add more vitamin K to your diet, eatmore kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli,lettuce, and greens.