In Australia, approximately two thirds of adults are overweight or obese.[1] If you have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25.0, you are considered to be overweight, and if your BMI is greater than 30.0, you are considered to be obese. [2] Patients who are overweight or obese are much more likely to develop surgical infections than those who are at a healthy weight.
In 2012, a study by Jämsen et al. demonstrated that patients who were morbidly obese had a postoperative infection rate of 4.66%, compared to patients in the healthy weight range, who had an infection rate of 0.37%.[2] Patients who were obese were at an even greater risk of infection if they also had diabetes. [2]
If you are overweight or obese, you should work with your family doctor as well as your physiotherapist or exercise physiologist who can develop a plan to help manage your weight and decrease your risk of postoperative infections.
[1] Department of Health, Overweight and Obesity, DoH, viewed 21 August 2020, < https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/Overweight-and-Obesity#:~:text=In%202017%2D18%2C%20the%20Australian,63.4%25%20in%202014%2D15.>.
[2] Jämsen, E, Nevalainen, P, Eskelinen, A, Huotari, K, Kalliovalkama, J and Moilanen, T 2012, ‘Obesity, Diabetes, and Preoperative Hyperglycemia as Predictors of Periprosthetic Joint infection, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, vol. 94, no. 109.
