For 20 years, Janine Price endured excruciatingly itchy red patches on her skin and severely painful joints.
“It started out of nowhere when I was pregnant with my first child,” shares the 50-year-old mother of two.
“I noticed random spots on my arms and body, but the most troubling was my scalp—I initially thought it was just a bad case of dandruff.”
After being diagnosed with psoriasis—an autoimmune skin disorder affecting over a million people in the UK—Janine explored various treatments. She tried everything from steroid creams to reduce inflammation to light therapy, and even a form of chemotherapy.
“It just kept getting progressively worse,” she explains. “Something might work temporarily, but then it would flare up again fiercely.”
“The patches became more visible, angry, and red—very noticeable. I became self-conscious, especially when they started appearing on my face,” she adds.
The condition began to affect her day-to-day life, particularly when she developed psoriatic arthritis – joint pain that hits a third of psoriasis sufferers.
‘It was really painful, even just doing things around the house – which then meant I became less active, which made the condition worse,’ says Janine, from Brecon in Powys.
Janine Price’s psoriasis came on without warning when she was pregnant with her first child
After being diagnosed Janine tried everything from steroid creams to light therapy and even a form of chemotherapy but she says the skin condition just got progressively worse
After years of discomfort and frustration, Janine finally found a solution – diet and exercise.
She cut out ultra-processed foods, reduced her sugar intake, ate more fruit and veg and began every morning with an aloe vera drink that she swears by.
Alongside the changes in diet, Janine took up yoga and running – she is now competing in half marathons.
The approach transformed her body. In all, she lost three stone and went down from a size 14 to a size 10.
‘Within months of becoming more active, I noticed an improvement in my skin and, following the programme over a decade, I have transformed my life,’ says Janine.
Now, in light of a landmark research paper, experts are calling for weight-loss interventions to be part of standard psoriasis care.
The review of 14 studies, analysing some 1,000 patients, was published by researchers at the University of Oxford, who found weight loss improved the quality of life of sufferers and reduced symptoms. They also found that greater weight loss was generally linked with greater improvement in psoriasis, and that people who started with a more severe condition often saw larger benefits.
Psoriasis causes itchy, sore patches all over the body when the immune system misfires and attacks healthy skin cells, often as a result of a minor infection or injury. Young adults in their 20s are most likely to be affected, but it can also strike out of nowhere.
Janine eventually discovered that a combination of diet and exercise was the solution to her skin condition and lost three stone in the process
Research estimates 80 per cent of sufferers are overweight or obese. ‘We know that fat tissue is inflammatory,’ says Dr Sarah Morrow, a dermatologist at the University of Oxford. ‘It produces chemicals that promote inflammation – the body’s response to injury or illness. These chemicals circulate in the bloodstream and can affect many organs, including the skin. Reducing excess weight may lower this background inflammation and help calm the overactive immune response of psoriasis.’
Current treatments range from creams and ointments applied directly to affected skin, to drugs that are injected to dampen the faulty immune response, as well as light therapy – UV rays are thought to help by suppressing the overactive immune system.
However, experts now say patients should also be advised that losing weight could significantly improve symptoms.
‘All patients with psoriasis who are also overweight need to be informed of the impact excess weight can have,’ says Dr Morrow.
‘They need to have access to weight-loss programmes, alongside medications.’
Dr Morrow admits that there is no magic weight-loss plan, but following a healthy, balanced diet and exercising regularly will see an improvement in symptoms.
Some research has suggested the Mediterranean diet may also help improve psoriasis symptoms.
A 2025 study found half the participants who followed the diet – which is plant-based and rich in healthy fats and wholegrains – over 16 weeks saw a 75 per cent reduction in symptoms.
‘Certain patients do record that the Mediterranean diet is helpful for them,’ says Dr Morrow. ‘But a lot more research needs to be done to show whether anti-inflammatory foods can help, beyond the weight loss from a healthy diet.’
Recent research also suggests weight-loss injections could provide a breakthrough in the treatment of psoriasis.
Last month, a study into tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, found a third of patients taking it alongside immune system-boosting pill ixekizumab (also known by its brand name, Taltz) achieved complete skin clearance.
‘These injections are one of the best ways for patients to lose weight currently,’ says Dr Morrow.
‘However, we do not know yet whether they have an additional effect on psoriasis sufferers because of their anti-inflammatory effect.
‘So patients should talk to a healthcare professional about the best weight management solution for them in the long term.’
