One-third gain weight after knee replacement surgery

 People who have knee replacement surgery are more likely to gain weight gain in the years after the operation than those from the same area who haven’t had an op, says a new UK study published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Data from one of the largest knee replacement registries in the UK was analysed; 30% of people who had knee replacements increased their body weight by at least 5% in the five years after surgery compared with 19.7% of members of the general public.

This risk remained after factors such as age, sex, body mass index and pre-surgical weight change had been accounted for, and was even higher for: youger patients; people who had further joint replacement procedures; and those who had lost large amounts of weight in the five years before surgery

More research is needed to develop programmes to help stop weight gain in those most at risk after knee replacement operations.