In one U.S. study in 1992, researchers showed that overweight women, middle-aged or older, with osteoarthritis in the knee could substantially reduce their risk for developing symptomatic osteoarthritis by losing weight. Most people can lose weight by eating a sensible, well-balanced diet, following guidelines for a healthy diet and by doing some gentle exercise. Talk to your physician first to see if you do need to lose weight and to decide on the best diet for you. If you do need to lose weight, there are several ways in which you can help yourself to learn new and better eating habits. You might want to think about following some strategies for losing weight, or discuss with your physician other ways of breaking your old eating habits.
Many hospitals have programs for losing weight and they are all quite similar.
Store food out of sight and try not to make meals that have leftovers that need to be eaten. Buy and cook food in smaller amounts and make it last. Measure out your portion sizes, eat more slowly and savor what you eat. Eat only at set times. Try not to eat between meals.