Fat is Pro-Inflammatory! Weight Loss Helps Relieve Pain From Arthritis (among other things!)

Copied from a recent post on the IVAPM*:

“…I would be looking for some of the non-pharmacologic strategies. You have already mentioned an important one, getting the weight off. Adipose tissue is the body’s largest endocrine organ, and it secretes, especially when in excess, a slew of nasty cytokines that essentially bathes the body – including the synovia and joints – in a soup of pro-inflammatory mediators. We have increasingly strong evidence in dogs that nothing more than weight loss will improve comfort and mobility in this species, including excellent one this year where the authors conclude “results indicate that body weight reduction causes a significant decrease in lameness from a weight loss of 6.10% onwards. Kinetic gait analysis supported the results from a body weight reduction of 8.85% onwards. These results confirm that weight loss should be presented as an important treatment modality to owners of obese dogs with OA and that noticeable improvement may be seen after modest weight loss in the region of 6.10 – 8.85% body weight”.”

Weight loss. There is no substitute. • Lago R, Gomez R, et al A new player in cartilage homeostasis: adiponectin induces nitric oxide synthase type II and pro-inflammatory cytokines in chondrocytes. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2008 Sep;16(9):1101-9. • Impellizeri JA, Tetrick MA, Muir P. Effect of weight reduction on clinical signs of lameness in dogs with hip osteoarthritis. JAVMA 2000 Apr 1;216(7):1089-91 • Burkholder, 2001 • Mlacnik E, Bockstahler BA, Muller M, et al. Effects of caloric restriction and a moderate or intense physiotherapy program for treatment of lameness in overweight dogs with osteoarthritis. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2006 Dec 1;229(11):1756-60. • Marshall WG, Hazewinkel, HA, Mullen D, et al. Vet Res Commun. The effect of weight loss on lameness in obese dogs with osteoarthritis. 2010 Mar;34(3):241-53

*International Veterinary Association of Pain Management

Exercise training in obese older adults prevents increase in bone turnover and attenuates decrease in hip bone mineral density induced by weight loss despite decline in bone-active hormones.

J Bone Miner Res.  2011; 26(12):2851-9 (ISSN: 1523-4681)

Shah K; Armamento-Villareal R; Parimi N; Chode S; Sinacore DR; Hilton TN; Napoli N; Qualls C; Villareal DT
Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Weight loss therapy to improve health in obese older adults is controversial because it causes further bone loss. Therefore, it is recommended that weight loss therapy should include an intervention such as exercise training (ET) to minimize bone loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the independent and combined effects of weight loss and ET on bone metabolism in relation to bone mineral density (BMD) in obese older adults. One-hundred-seven older (age >65 years) obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30  kg/m(2) ) adults were randomly assigned to a control group, diet group, exercise group, and diet-exercise group for 1 year. Body weight decreased in the diet (-9.6%) and diet-exercise (-9.4%) groups, not in the exercise (-1%) and control (-0.2%) groups (between-group p  <  0.001). However, despite comparable weight loss, bone loss at the total hip was relatively less in the diet-exercise group (-1.1%) than in the diet group (-2.6%), whereas BMD increased in the exercise group (1.5%) (between-group p  <  0.001). Serum C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) and osteocalcin concentrations increased in the diet group (31% and 24%, respectively), whereas they decreased in the exercise group (-13% and -15%, respectively) (between-group p  <  0.001). In contrast, similar to the control group, serum CTX and osteocalcin concentrations did not change in the diet-exercise group. Serum procollagen propeptide concentrations decreased in the exercise group (-15%) compared with the diet group (9%) (p  =  0.04). Serum leptin and estradiol concentrations decreased in the diet (-25% and -15%, respectively) and diet-exercise (-38% and -13%, respectively) groups, not in the exercise and control groups (between-group p  =  0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed that changes in lean body mass (β  =  0.33), serum osteocalcin (β  = -0.24), and one-repetition maximum (1-RM) strength (β  =  0.23) were independent predictors of changes in hip BMD (all p  <  0.05). In conclusion, the addition of ET to weight loss therapy among obese older adults prevents weight loss-induced increase in bone turnover and attenuates weight loss-induced reduction in hip BMD despite weight loss-induced decrease in bone-active hormones.

Fast Walking and Jogging Halve Development of Heart Disease and Stroke Risk Factors, Research Indicates

The findings indicate that it is the intensity, rather than the duration, of exercise that counts in combating the impact of metabolic syndrome — a combination of factors, including midriff bulge, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of blood glucose and abnormal blood fat levels — say the authors.
This has been proved in different studies in different ways for different reasons, mostly related to sport science and training, for many years. Don’t think you don’t have enough time to exercise 🙂

Keep in mind, though, that it’s very slow walks that bring about the benefits at the beginning of rehab, as per my homework instructions!

ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2012) — Daily activities, such as fast walking and jogging, can curb the development of risk factors for heart disease and stroke by as much as 50 per cent, whereas an hour’s daily walk makes little difference, indicates research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

The findings indicate that it is the intensity, rather than the duration, of exercise that counts in combating the impact of metabolic syndrome — a combination of factors, including midriff bulge, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of blood glucose and abnormal blood fat levels — say the authors.

Genes, diet, and lack of exercise are thought to be implicated in the development of the syndrome, which is conducive to inflammation and blood thickening.

The authors base their findings on more than 10,000 Danish adults, between the ages of 21 and 98, who were initially assessed in 1991-94 and then monitored for up to 10 years. All the participants were quizzed on the amount of physical activity they did, which was categorised according to intensity and duration.

At the initial assessment, around one in five (20.7%) women and just over one in four (27.3%) men had metabolic syndrome. Prevalence was closely linked to physical activity level.

Among the women, almost one in three of those who had a sedentary lifestyle had the syndrome whereas only one in 10 of those who were very physically active had it. Among men, the equivalent proportions were just under 37% and just under 14%

Of the remaining 6,088 participants without metabolic syndrome, just under two thirds (3,992) completed the fourth and final survey and assessment, by which point one in seven (15.4%; 585) had developed it.

Again, the prevalence was higher among those leading a sedentary lifestyle, with almost one in five (19.4%) affected compared with around one in nine (11.8%) of those who were very physically active.

It was not only the amount of exercise, but also the intensity which helped curb the likelihood of developing the syndrome.

After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, fast walking speed halved the risk, while jogging cut the risk by 40 per cent. But going for an hour’s walk every day made no difference.

“Our results confirm the role of physical activity in reducing [metabolic syndrome] risk and suggest that intensity rather than volume of physical activity is important,” conclude the authors.