Healthy Weight

Body Fat & Arthritis 

🧪 The Evidence

Studies consistently show:

• Overweight individuals are at significantly higher risk of developing inflammatory joint diseases

• Extra weight worsens disease severity, increases fatigue, and accelerates joint degeneration

• Obesity is linked to reduced response to arthritis medications like biologics

🐒 A Little Story About the Zoo…

If you walked into a zoo and saw that all the primates were overweight or obese, you’d ask the zookeeper, “What are you feeding them?”

He replies, “Just the usual – breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and dessert!”

The inspector frowns and says, “What are you thinking? Are you trying to kill them? These animals only need to eat once or twice a day, not six times!”

We instinctively understand how to feed animals, yet we’ve normalized constant eating in human life. Even signs at the zoo say, “Please don’t feed the animals human food – it makes them sick.”

As it turns out, it’s making us sick too.

Global Weight Trends & Health Impact

• As of 2022, roughly 43% of adults worldwide are overweight and 16% are obese – affecting nearly half the global adult population.
  
  

• Obesity rates have more than doubled since 1990 and are projected to affect nearly 50% of adults by 2030.
  
  

• So what is normal is not healthy.

What Fat Does: More Than Just Padding

• Visceral fat acts like an inflammatory organ, releasing cytokines (like IL‑6, TNF‑α) that fuel systemic inflammation and slow recovery.
  
  

• People that are overweight or obese have a 25 to 30% higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and worse outcomes if arthritis develops.

Body Fat and Disease Severity

• Excess fat worsens pain, stiffness, fatigue, and physical disability in RA, PsA, A.S., and OA.
  
  

• It also reduces the effectiveness of medications – such as methotrexate and biologics – and increases cardiovascular risk.

The Power of Change

• Losing 5 to 10% of your body weight can significantly reduce markers like C-reactive protein and improve quality of life.
  
  

• Regular movement and dietary pattern shifts are really important steps to reduce pain and inflammation.

Fasting & Time-Restricted Eating

• A 16:8 time-restricted eating window – eating between midday (12 noon) and 7 p.m. creates a daily 16-hour fast that helps reduce inflammation and visceral fat.
  
  

• Many people report dramatic reductions in joint pain and stiffness using this method consistently over weeks.
  
  

• If you have weight to lose – generally fasting for a few days (water and some minerals excepted) can bring inflammation down dramatically within 3 or 4 days. When i was in a bad way, after just 4 days of fasting, I was totally pain free. I would only eat vegetables and a little fruit for a day or two before fasting so I did not have the wrong foods sitting in my system. (Not medical or dietary advice)
  
  
• Studies on calorie restriction in mammals – such as mice, rats, and some primates – show that reducing calorie intake by about 20 to 40% (without malnutrition) can extend lifespan by approximately 20 to 30%. For example, rodents fed around 30% fewer calories than usual often live up to 30% longer than those fed ad libitum. This effect is linked to reduced metabolic rate, lower oxidative stress, and improved cellular repair mechanisms.
  
  
• Throughout history, many people have practiced withdrawing from everyday life to fast and meditate in solitude. In nearly every tradition – from Jesus fasting forty days in the desert, to the Buddha’s retreats under the Bodhi tree, to Sufi mystics undertaking forty-day chilla, and all their followers – periods of quiet isolation were used to cleanse the body, calm the mind, and reconnect with deeper awareness. The early Christian Desert Fathers, Buddhist monks, and countless ascetics across cultures all recognised that solitude and fasting could bring both physical and spiritual renewal.

• In the modern world, the same principle can be applied with care. A few days of fasting can help lower inflammation and reset appetite regulation. Being away from social cues and constant access to food makes it easier to listen to your body and let it rest. Fasting isn’t about punishment or deprivation – it’s about giving your system a pause from excess intake and stimulation, much like our ancestors did during times of reflection and renewal. However, prolonged fasting (beyond a few days) should only be done with medical or professional oversight, as nutrient deficiencies and metabolic stress can develop without proper guidance.

Why Plant-Based, High-Fiber Diets Are Best

• Diets rich in whole plant foods – vegetables, legumes, whole grains – are proven to promote healthy gut microbiomes, reduce inflammation, and support weight stability.
  
  

• Consuming refined carbs plus added oils, especially seed oils high in omega-6 fats, tends to promote weight gain and inflammation.
  
  

• Evidence shows that populations eating rice, veggies, and legumes (without added fat) maintain low rates of obesity.
  
  

• It’s easy to maintain a healthy weight when eating whole, plant-based foods and nothing processed. 

Building a Healthy Self-Image & Environment

• Normalize eating fewer meals per day – two meals instead of six – and deflate cultural norms that equate eating often with being well.
  
  

• Use visualization and social support to reinforce your identity as someone healing, active, and in control.
  
  

• Spending time with people who eat consciously, move regularly, and value health over unhealthy desires makes it easier to stick with healthy habits.