Obesity Is Associated with Greater Valgus Knee Alignment in Pubertal Children, and Higher Body Mass Index Is Associated with Greater Variability in Knee Alignment in Girls.

CONCLUSION: We found significantly greater variability in knee alignment among females at higher BMI Z-scores, and greater valgus alignment in obese adolescents in late puberty. The major limitation is the use of DEXA for assessment of alignment, which needs validation against longstanding radiographs. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether childhood obesity is a risk factor for progressive malalignment that may predispose to pain and risk of early osteoarthritis. PMID: 25362652 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25362652?dopt=Abstract

Source: J Rheumatol - November 1, 2014 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Bout-Tabaku S, Shults J, Zemel BS, Leonard MB, Berkowitz RI, Stettler N, Burnham JM Tags: J Rheumatol Source Type: research