The management of overweight and obesity includes a combination of dietary changes, increased physical activity, and behavior modification. Some patients may eventually require pharmacologic therapy or bariatric surgery to augment weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Physical exercise and activity are also important for maintaining long-term weight loss and are key in preserving lean body mass during and after weight loss. In overweight adult females, a dose-response relationship has been demonstrated between the amount of exercise and total weight lost as well as long-term weight loss maintenance .
The role of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of obesity will be reviewed here. Additional discussion of basal metabolic activities and thermogenesis, as well as other interventions in the management of obesity in adults, are reviewed separately:
Overall Health
Physical activity improves physical and mental health in a wide range , opposite to that , a sedentary lifestyle in adults has been associated with increased mortality .
Exercise as prevention of overweight/obesity
Exercise is important for the primary prevention of obesity .Low levels of physical activity and recreation are related to weight gain .Maintaining adequate physical activity reduces the risk of weight gain and the risk of cardiovascular disease .
Treatment for obesity
Exercise has been evaluated as a single treatment for obesity, in combination with diet, and for maintaining weight loss after successful completion of a weight-loss program.
The frequency and intensity of exercise may explain why exercise does not improve weight loss above that achieved with calorie restriction. If a patient utilizes 100 calories during exercise each day (700 calories per week), it would take roughly five weeks to utilize the energy (3500 calories) in one pound of fat.
