Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease in which the joints of the body begin to wear out the cartilage due to years of excessive pressure on the skeletal system.

Excess weight and obesity are direct contributors to osteoarthritis. Extreme pressure on the joints from excess weight causes friction that leads the cartilage to wear thin and eventually causes bones to scrape against each other resulting in severe pain.

Osteoarthritis, if left untreated, can lead to lack of mobility in some patients.

Patients can have cartilage taken from other areas of the body or have artificial cartilage injected between the joints. Osteoarthritis is preventable through weight loss to relieve the pressure that excess weight has on the body.