Did you know that every step you take on flat ground subjects your knees to a force equal to one-and-a-half times your body weight? If you tip the scales at 200 pounds, that's 300 pounds of pounding.

And going up or down an incline can cause your knees to get hammered with a force equivalent to three times your body weight.

It’s little wonder then that a new study in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology found that the higher your body mass index (BMI), the greater your risk for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and inflammatory spondylitis.

These so-called rheumatic conditions are more likely because of the body-wide inflammation and the specific inflammation and wear-and-tear that being overweight causes your joints, bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. And that, researchers say, leads to chronic pain, limited mobility, and a shorter lifespan.

Those findings are confirmed by another new study in which researchers found that when people who are overweight or obese and have arthritis of the knees or hips take weight-loss medications to gradually lose weight, it extends their life expectancy.

Importantly, losing weight fast didn't offer that benefit. (The data were collected using weight-loss meds such as orlistat and sibutramine, not newer ones such as Wegovy or Mounjaro.)