The place and role of physical activity in the treatment of obesity

Treatment of obesity should primarily include diet and physical activity. Increased physical activity increases energy consumption with beneficial effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic-endocrine systems. It is of utmost importance to point out that simultaneous changes in physical activity and diet decrease both the total body fat mass and the viscelar fat. At the same time, protein body structure is maintained and subsequent follow-up of patients showed better results in respect of maintaining the achieved results. In children and adolescents it is possible to achieve weight loss only by increasing physical activity. Physical activity should be performed three times a week, and if metabolic effects are to be achieved, each training should last up to an hour. Highly recommendable are: swimming, cycling and hiking, whereas team sports provide better socialization of obese people.