The effects of short-term dietary calorie restriction combined with aerobic exercise on systemic inflammation in overweight or obese individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of 4-weeks dietary calorie restriction alone (CR) compared to CR with aerobic exercise (CR+E) on systemic inflammation and index knee pain in overweight and obese individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods Twenty-three individuals with knee OA completed a randomised controlled trial. Participants in the CR group (n=9, BMI: 30.0 ± 2.4 kg/m 2 , 56 ± 5 years) were asked to reduce their habitual energy intake by 5000 kcal/week for 4 weeks, and those randomised to the CR+E group (n=14, BMI: 32.3 ± 4.8 kg/m 2 , 57 ± 5 years) were asked to follow the same dietary CR and perform five, 30-minute bouts of moderate intensity cycling per week. Blood markers of inflammation, body composition, function, and pain were compared after a 4-week intervention period by ANCOVA, using pre-intervention value as a covariate. Results There was no difference in CRP between groups at post-intervention (p=0.517, d=0.31). IL-6 was lower (p