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

Deere, Rachel, Farrow, Matthew, Spellanzon, Bruno, Chowdhury, Enhad, Thompson, Dylan and Bilzon, L.J. 2026. 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. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice , 103505. 10.1016/j.msksp.2026.103505

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

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/m2, 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/m2, 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<0.01; d=1.69) at post-intervention in the CR+E group (1.36 mg/dL, 0.72 to 2.00) compared to CR group (2.98 mg/dL, 2.22 to 3.73). Visual analogue scale (VAS) knee pain was lower (p<0.01; d=1.29) at post-intervention in the CR+E group (2, 1 to 3) compared to the CR group (4, 3 to 5). The time to complete the stair climb test was lower at post-intervention in the CR+E group compared to the CR group (p=0.016, d=1.17). Conclusions Four weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training combined with CR led to a greater reduction in IL-6, but not CRP, compared to CR alone. The addition of exercise to CR led to greater reduction in knee pain compared to CR alone. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT05518890).

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Medicine Research Institutes & Centres > Centre for Trials Research (CNTRR)
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: Title: This article is under embargo with an end date yet to be finalised.
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2468-8630
Date of Acceptance:	27 January 2026
Last Modified:	12 Feb 2026 10:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/184714

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item