A recent study conduced by Swiss researchers for the Geneva University Hospital finds that obese women face more complications from hip replacement surgery than those of normal weight.
Researchers from the Geneva hospital studied a total of 2,495 patients who had the hip replacement surgery with at least 589 of them falling into the obese category. The subjects were observed for almost a decade from 1996 to 2005.
Now published in the Arthritis Care & Research journal, the study finds that obese women suffer from a higher risk of infection, more dislocations, and complications caused by infection. Positive outcomes from the hip replacement surgery were also significantly lower in obese women. Obese men, on the other hand, seemed to have lesser complications and coped better with the hip replacement surgery than women. The researchers believe that gender differences might contribute to the disparity, especially as women have lowered peripheral muscle strength than women, accounting for a higher rate of dislocations.
The researchers have very simple advice for obese women: reduce weight before surgery.
In addition, participating in a weight-loss program prior to surgery might be beneficial for such patients.
They add that obese women must be made aware of the higher risks and possibilities for more complications before undergoing the surgery. The findings from the study attenuate what medical practitioners have long advocated - a healthy, low-fat diet with moderate exercise can accrue more benefits in the long run. A high-fat lifestyle seems just too high a price to pay for high-risk living later on. Never too late to exercise, it seems.
Via: Yahoo News
