Role of Physical Activity and Exercise in Treating Patients with Overweight and Obesity

BACKGROUND Overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns that are linked to numerous negative health consequences. Physical activity is an important lifestyle behavior that contributes to body weight regulation. CONTENT Physical activity is inversely associated with weight gain and the incidence of obesity. Physical activity also contributes to additional weight loss when coupled with dietary modification, and it can result in modest weight loss when not coupled with dietary modification. Moreover, physical activity is associated with improved long-term weight loss and prevention of weight gain following initial weight loss. Current evidence supports that physical activity should be moderate to vigorous in intensity to influence body weight regulation. There is also a growing body of evidence that physical activity can be accumulated throughout the day in shorter periods of time rather than being performed during a structured and longer period, and that physical activity performed in this manner can be important for body weight regulation. SUMMARY The literature supports the inclusion of physical activity as an important lifestyle behavior for regulating body weight. There are multiple intervention approaches that may be effective for enhancing physical activity engagement within the context of weight control.