Why This Is Important

In a 2006 journal article from the Royal College of Surgeons of England that tracked a total of 1,366 hip replacements and 585 knee replacement procedures performed between 2000 and 2005, 28.3 percent of patients had a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30 kg/m², comprising 328 (24 percent) hip replacements and 225 (38.5 percent) knee replacements.² Significantly, according to the authors’ findings, in the knee replacement segment, 29 percent of men and 46 percent of women had a BMI of 30 kg/m² or greater (P<0.001; 95 percent).