Ultra-processed foods: a risk for muscles and knees

Osteoarthritis of the knee (gonarthrosis) affects 30% of people aged 65 to 75, according to the health insurance website. Being overweight is a risk factor, due to the pressure exerted on the joints. This is why weight loss and physical activity are part of the prevention measures for knee osteoarthritis. But the quality of the diet would also play a role.

Indeed, a team from the University of California at San Francisco showed, by following the cohort Osteoarthritis Initiativethat high consumption of ultra-processed foods (AUTs) is associated with knee osteoarthritis. However, in osteoarthritis of the knee, there is a deterioration in the quality of the thigh muscles, via the infiltration of fat between the muscle fibers.

The researchers therefore wanted to know if AUT consumption was correlated with this muscle damage.

A link between muscle fat, AUT and knee osteoarthritis

For this new study published in the journal Radiologyresearchers analyzed the MRI scans of 615 people from theOsteoarthritis Initiative. These people, who had an average age of 60 years and an average BMI of 27 (corresponding to being overweight), did not yet present osteoarthritis at the time of the imaging.

Ultra-processed foods (AUT) represented, on average, 41% of their diet over the previous year. The researchers found that the higher the proportion of TUEs in the participants’ diet, the greater the fat infiltrating the thigh musclesregardless of caloric intake. This means that, more than the quantity of calories absorbed, it is the quality of the diet that takes precedence.

The fat that infiltrates between the muscle fibers (not to be confused with the subcutaneous fat mass) degrades the contractile quality of the muscle. However, weakened thigh muscles modify the distribution of loads on the knee, a mechanism already known as a risk factor for osteoarthritis.

For Dr. Zehra Akkaya, lead author of the study, “Fighting obesity remains a primary objective and a first-line treatment in knee osteoarthritis, but the results of this study show that diet quality deserves increased attention, and that weight loss programs should take this into account, beyond just calorie restriction and physical exercise. »

In practice: diet against osteoarthritis

In his book Nutri Osteoarthritis, Angélique Houlbert, dietician-nutritionist, explains how to identify ultra-processed foods (AUT) to avoid them from your diet. In particular, the long lists of ingredients, additives and other ingredients absent from our kitchens (maltodextrin, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, etc.), should alert and encourage people to leave the product in the store.

In her guide, Angélique Houlbert gives concrete advice for adopting a diet that helps fight osteoarthritis. For example, she advises limiting bread (especially white) to once a day, reducing added salt, and conversely, increasing fresh vegetables, fruits, unsalted oilseeds, fatty fish and whole grains with a low glycemic index.

To find out more: Nutri Osteoarthritis