Moderate 5 hours a week exercise doesn't up risk of knee osteoarthritis

Engaging in moderate physical activity up to two and a half hours a week does not increase the risk of developing knee osteoarthritis over a 6-year follow-up period in adults age 45 and older, a new study has revealed.

Study participants who engaged in the highest levels of physical activity- up to 5 hours a week- did have a slightly higher risk of knee osteoarthritis, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Joanne Jordan, MD, MPH, senior study author and director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said that moderate physical activities are those that produce some increase in heart rate or breathing, like rapid walking

Barbour said that meeting physical activity recommendations through these simple activities are a great way to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases.

The results are based on an analysis of data collected from 1999 to 2010 as part of UNC's long-running Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, a prospective, population-based study of knee, hip, hand and spine osteoarthritis and disability in African Americans and Caucasians, aged 45 years and older.

The study was published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research.