With an estimated 31% of men and 68% of women in South Africa obese, the need to educate people about the dangers of being obese and overweight has never been more important.
Being overweight can increase your risk of developing serious health issues including heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.
While most of us know that to lose weight we need to limit how much we eat, many people may still be unsure about the importance of physical exercise when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off.
According to current global estimates, one in four adults and a staggering 81% of adolescents do not do enough physical activity. Recognising the negative impact of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) last year published the WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. For most age groups, the recommendation is now to do at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week to help maintain a healthy body weight.
Dr Riekie Smit, a medical practitioner from Pretoria with a special interest in weight management, says that regular physical exercise should be implemented for weight loss, weight loss maintenance and the improvement of overall health, immunity and self-esteem.
“To lose weight, one needs a negative energy balance which can be achieved by either reducing your energy intake or increasing energy expenditure (through exercise),” she says.
Studies conducted into the efficacy of including exercise when losing weight show that there is a correlation between doing regular physical exercise and reduction of body mass. Furthermore, regular physical exercise has been found to positively influence the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
While losing weight can be difficult, maintaining weight loss can be even more of a challenge.
Studies show that few obese individuals succeed in losing weight and maintaining that weight loss in the long term.
Patients may reliably be able to lose weight but fail to maintain the weight loss5.
“Exercise is a very important part of weight loss, but especially for maintaining weight loss. Scientific studies have shown that exercise can help to prevent regaining weight after weight loss,” says Dr Smit.
“Regular exercise also increases your metabolism and your muscle mass; this results in more energy expenditure even when resting. This is one of reasons why exercise helps to prevent regaining weight after weight loss,” she says.
Here are some of the global recommendations on physical activity for adults:
- Adults aged 18–64 should do 150 - 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do 75 - 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of both.
- For substantial health benefits, adults may increase their moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to more than 300 minutes per week or engage in more than 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week or an equivalent combination of both.
- Muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity should be done involving all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week as these provide additional health benefits.
An example of moderate-intensity aerobic activity is something such as brisk walking, while jogging or running are examples of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.
While 150 minutes each week might sound like a lot, it equates to 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week and can be broken up and spread out during the week, so that you do not have to do it all at once.
Besides regular exercise, Dr Smit says that two other steps are needed to lose weight in a healthy way. These include changing your diet and adopting some type of continuous monitoring system.
“People need to change the way they think about food, to really see the benefits of healthy food not only for weight loss but for overall health. Some may also need to make drastic changes with regards to portion size and reducing the total calorie intake daily. In certain cases, medication may be needed to help with this,” Dr Smit says.
She also says that continuous monitoring plays an important role in helping people to stick to their new routine. “This can either be done by a health care worker or the new trend of mobile self-monitoring applications that help to motivate, reward and keep track of one’s exercise, diet, weight or health”3. A free weight loss tracker, exercise program and a downloadable food diary can be obtained from the iLiveLite program at www.ilivelite.co.za.
Always speak to your doctor before embarking on a new exercise plan. You can also speak to your doctor about options for weight management or go to www.ilivelite.co.za for more information.
DISCLAIMER: This editorial has been commissioned and brought to you by iNova Pharmaceuticals. This editorial has content that includes independent comments and opinions from independent healthcare providers and are the opinions and experiences of that particular healthcare provider which are not necessarily that of iNova Pharmaceuticals. Content in this editorial is for general information only and is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice. For more information on your medical condition and treatment options, speak to your healthcare professional.
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References:
- Western Cape Government. Obesity: Is your waistline killing you? (2020) at https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/obesity-your-waistline-killing-you (website accessed on 01 October 2021)
- World Obesity. The role of physical activity and exercise in obesity. A position statement from the World Obesity Federation (2019) at https://www.worldobesity.org/news/world-obesity-federation-publishes-a-new-position-statement-on-the-role-of-physical-activity-and-exercise-on-obesity (website accessed on 01 October 2021)
- Q&A with Dr Riekie Smit - 29 June 2021 (unpaid)
- Cieslinska, j et al. Efficacy of weight loss exercises in treatment of overweight and exogenous obesity. Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland 2002
- Wyatt, H and O Hill, J. Let’s get serious about promoting physical activity. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 75:449–50.
- World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How much physical activity do adults need? (2020) at https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm (website accessed on 01 October 2021)