If you suffer from osteoarthritis of the knees and you’re overweight, you’ve no doubt heard your provider suggest weight loss. Although you might intuitively know this is helpful, you probably don’t know just how weight loss impacts the knee.

Since the knee has a relatively small surface area the force of impact is magnified so small losses in weight are also magnified. Conversely, weight gain magnifies the impact on the knee eventually leading to destruction of the cartilage that protects bones from rubbing on each other. Just how much force are we talking about? Walking on a level surface magnifies the force of impact 3x. Going up or down stairs magnifies the impact 5x and running or jogging magnifies the impact 7x.

This means that if there is a 25# weight loss, the knee feels a weight loss equivalent of 100# when walking, and 150# with stair climbing. Considering that the average number of steps/day for a sedentary person is between 1000 and 3000, that amounts to over 3000# of force/day that the knee doesn’t have to bear.

The conclusion? Any amount of weight loss translates into less impact on the knee joint, helping to preserve the cartilage that covers and protects the bone. And remember, any additional weight gain has at minimum, a 3-fold impact on your knees.

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