Weight Loss Improves Knee Arthritis Symptoms, Study Says

BOSTON (CBS) - Doctors often recommend that overweight patients with arthritis of the knee lose weight to improve their pain and function, but how much weight loss makes a difference?

A new study out of Wake Forest University in North Carolina finds that even a modest amount can pay big dividends when it comes to relieving symptoms.

Researchers looked at 240 overweight and obese older adults with pain related to knee arthritis and found that those who lost 10-percent or more of their body weight over 18 months cut their pain in half.

Losing 20-percent of body weight led to an additional 25-percent reduction in pain and even more mobility and a better quality of life.