WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD April 28, 2011 -- Adults
with arthritis are more likely than those without arthritis to
be obese, according to a new government study. ''The frequency
of obesity is 54% higher among people with arthritis compared to
those without,'' says Jennifer Hootman, PhD, an epidemiologist
with the CDC. She is the co-author of the report, published in
the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. "That was
higher than I thought [it would be]," she tells WebMD. "I
thought it would be 30% or 40%." An estimated 72.5 million U.S.
adults ages 20 and older are obese; 50 million have arthritis,
according to the report. The CDC researchers wanted to evaluate
how many people with doctor-diagnosed arthritis were obese
compared to people who do not have arthritis. They analyzed data
from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for
the years 2003 to 2009. The BRFSS is a telephone survey
conducted annually with adults from all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, Guam, Puerto R