Several studies have investigated the influence of body mass index (BMI) on functional gain after total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) in osteoarthritis, with contradictory results.

This systematic literature review was conducted to ascertain whether obesity affects functional recovery after THR or TKR in the short (<1 year), medium (<3 years) and long term (>3 years).

The study was registered with PROSPERO and conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines.

A systematic literature search was conducted across Medline and EMBASE databases for articles published between 1980 and 2020 that investigated patient-reported measures of functional recovery after THR and TKR in participants with osteoarthritis and obesity (defined as BMI ≥30 kg/m2).