 [ Symptoms ] can being over weight cause arthritis in your feet [ Disease ] while excess weight does not necessarily cause arthritis in places like your feet it can exacerbate it or make it progress in a more rapid fashion excess weight puts additional stress on joints making arthritis symptoms worse losing weight will not cure arthritis but it can help slow down the progression of the disease for more details on how this works see this webmd article weight bearing joints like knee and ankle are most likely affected by arthritis being overweight is a known risk factor of arthritis and even putting on 10 pounds may worsen the arthritis while treating arthritis in obese and overweight individuals weight loss is considered as an important strategy