Earlier Onset of Arthritis in More Recent Generations Linked to Obesity

"We found that each succeeding generation had a higher prevalence of arthritis.  The effect of obesity was such that the differences between generations were more marked for obese individuals compared to those of normal weight. Our findings also suggest that obese individuals report arthritis a few years earlier than normal weight individuals.   Looking at other things which might affect arthritis prevalence, our statistical analyses suggest that the adverse effect of obesity on increasing the prevalence of arthritis has offset potential benefits of improved education and income over time."