Weight loss is associated with reduced risk of knee and hip replacement: a survival analysis using Osteoarthritis Initiative data.

In people with or at risk of clinically significant knee osteoarthritis, every 1% weight loss was associated with a 2% reduced risk of knee replacement and - in those people who also had one or more persistently painful hips - a 3% reduced risk of hip replacement, regardless of baseline BMI. Public health strategies that incorporate weight loss interventions have the potential to reduce the burden of knee and hip replacement surgery.