Durban - A recent study has found that weight loss by a balanced amount of diet and exercise can help slow down the degeneration of knee cartilage.
The study, presented at the 103rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, found that knee joint is a common site of osteoarthritis and in many people, the condition progresses until knee replacement becomes necessary.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects more than a third of adults over the age of 60.
"Once the cartilage is lost in osteoarthritis, the disease cannot be reversed," said Alandra Gersing, lead author of the study.
LIfestyle - According to the study, weight loss has shown to slow down cartilage degeneration in overweight and obese individuals, but it was unclear if the method used to lose weight made a difference.
The team investigated cartilage degeneration and joint abnormalities over the course of 96 months in 380 overweight men and women.
Cartilage degeneration was significantly lower among people who lost weight through diet and exercise or diet alone.
Weight loss through exercise alone showed no significant difference in cartilage degeneration, the researchers said.
"These results add to the hypothesis that solely exercise as a regimen in order to lose weight in overweight and obese adults may not be as beneficial to the knee joint as weight loss regimens involving diet," Gersing said.