Osteoarthritis Healthy Weight for Life Program

What is the Osteoarthritis Healthy Weight for Life Program?

Every year many people with osteoarthritis undergo knee or hip replacement surgery that may have been avoided if non-surgical management methods had been trialled early on (where appropriate). Weight reduction and exercise are key ways to help reduce pressure on the joints and may help some people avoid or delay surgery.

We’ve partnered with Prima Health Solutions to offer eligible Bupa customers the Osteoarthritis Healthy Weight for Life program (OAHWFL). The program has been developed in collaboration with leading Australian and international medical and physiotherapy experts, and integrates weight loss, muscle strengthening and pain management in an 18-week program made up of 3 phases:

Phase 1: Motivational weight loss with very low-calorie diet (KicStart VLCD) meal replacement
Phase 2: Consolidation weight loss for 6 weeks
Phase 3: Weight maintenance

The program delivers online education modules, phone and web-based support, personalised coaching and goal setting, GP communications, and post-program follow up.

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Why we offer this program

Osteoarthritis (OA) is inflammation of a joint that causes pain, stiffness and limits movement. It mainly affects the hips, knees, hands and spine and it worsens over time. Causes of OA include older age, being obese (added weight puts extra stress on joints), and joint injuries/damage.

Up to 95% of all hip and knee replacements are due to osteoarthritis, and the number of replacements is likely to increase in future due to factors including an ageing population, rising rates of obesity, and the lack of any imminent medical breakthrough on the horizon. One in 7 Australians having a hip or knee replacement is a Bupa customer.

Guidelines recommend that OA is conservatively managed by taking medicines, staying active, and controlling modifiable risk factors like obesity by maintaining a healthy weight. Clinical studies have found that managing osteoarthritis by achieving a healthy weight can help improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis (e.g. pain), and improve function, and the greater the weight loss, the greater the improvement.

What does the program deliver for our customers?

Want to find out more?

  • Bupa’s Hip and Knee Support Line
  • If you’d like to know how Bupa supports customers who have hip or knee osteoarthritis, or you’re having hip or knee replacement surgery and you’d like to explore your rehab options, you can call our free help line and speak to a Bupa health professional.
  • If you are a health professional (e.g. GP or orthopaedic surgeon) or practice manager, and you’d like to know how Bupa can support your patients, our Bupa health professionals are also here to help you.
  • Call 1800 817 632 Monday to Friday, 9am –5pm AEST.
  • Program eligibility, fund, policy and waiting period rules apply.
  • To find out more about the Osteoarthritis Healthy Weight For Life program, visit oa.hwfl.com.au.
  • If you would like us to contact you about whether you may be eligible for this program, or for another Member Health Support program, please complete the Bupa TeleHealth Request a Call Form.

References

Mayo Clinic. 2018 Osteoarthritis. Available from: www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoarthritis

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 2017 Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: An update review. Comparative Effectiveness Review. Number 190. AHRQ Publication No. 17-EHC011-EF

Atukorala I et al. 2016 Is there a dose-response relationship between weight loss and system improvement in persons with knee osteoarthristis? Arthritis Care & Research. Vol. 68(8): 1106–1114.