I heard a little about this a couple of weeks ago. I have always had the idea that joint replacemtn was happening on people that were very physical, mostly runners that are really pushing their hip and knee joints but this is simply not true. The largest cause by far for knee and hip replacements is people being overweight. Obesity plays a big part in the wearing of joints

In 1997, about 60.2% of primary hip replacements and 69.1% of primary knee replacements were performed in patients ages 65 to 84, Sunny Kim, Ph.D., of Florida International University here, reported in the April 15 issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

But by 2004, the corresponding proportions were 52.1% and 58.4%, respectively.

In 1997, 45- to 64-year-olds accounted for 26.5% and 25.6% of primary total hip and knee replacements, respectively. These proportions grew to 36% and 36.4%, respectively, in 2004.

Dr. Kim noted that more joint replacements in a younger and heavier population will likely increase the need for revisions with lengthier operative times, longer hospital stays, and higher complication rates than primary replacements. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: arthritis, Columbus Medical Research Foundation, Florida International University, healthcare community, hip replacements, joint replacement, joint replacements, knee replacements, Medicare, obesity, Ph.D., private insurance systems, Sunny Kim, USD

A couple years ago my wife was considering weight loss surgery as her years off dieting and exercise and the yoyo weight loss/gain nightmare had mad her tired of the whole weight loss industry. Using Weight Watchers and getting the exercise to a more moderate lvel have helped Michelle lose three pounds or so per week and she is quickly dropping the weight that was so stubborn just a couple of years back. Yesterday Michelle got a call for the gastric bypass surgery consultation which here in Alberta Canada takes 19 months, I am happy to say that she turned it down because a healthy lifestyle has maed the difference for her. As you probably know there are a lot of instances where this surgery is really helpful for people but only in cases where there is a risk of imminent death by now doing something as drastic as this surgery is.

I have found an article from Bloomberg that I think really shows the importance of this surgery and the possible implications. Below are some exerpts from that article.
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Tags: American Medical Association, arthritis, associate professor, back surgery, bariatric surgeries, bariatric surgery, Bloomberg, Bruce M. Wolfe, California, David R. Flum, David S. Zingmond, diabetes, food, Gastric bypass, gastric bypass surgery, GBP, health care services, heart surgery, high blood pressure, hip replacement, insurance, John M. Morton, Journal of the American Medical Association, knee surgery, lead researcher, Los Angeles, Medicare, Michelle Fay Cortez, Minneapolis, obesity, obesity surgery, Oregon Health Science University in Portland, plastic surgery, Portland, professor of medicine, professor of surgery, reporter, Seattle, Stanford University in California, surgeries, surgery, UCLA's School of Medicine, United States, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Washington in Seattle, weight loss surgery