Physical Activity Is Associated with Weight Loss and Increased Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Severely Obese Men and Women Undergoing Lifestyle Treatment

Abstract

We aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity (PA) and change in body weight and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in severely obese men and women. Thirty-five subjects (10 men, body mass index 43.2 ± 5.1 kg/m2) who participated in a 10-month lifestyle treatment programme were included. The PA duration correlated only with weight change for men (r = −0.69, P = .027 versus r = −0.19, P = .372 for women). Conversely, the PA intensity correlated only with CRF for women (r = 0.61, P = .003 versus r = 0.39, P = .340 for men). PA explained 55.8 and 5.6% of weight change for men and women, respectively, whereas the corresponding explained variances for CRF were 15.6 and 36.7%. We conclude that PA was associated with change in body weight and CRF; however, there was a trend towards a gender specific effect between severely obese men and women.

Changes in Body Composition, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors, and Eating Behavior after an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention with High Volume of Physical Activity in Severely Obese Subjects: A Prospective Clinical Controlled Trial

“…PA is associated with weight loss and increased cardiorespiratory fitness in subjects with SO undergoing lifestyle treatment [29]. In addition to the well-known effect of PA on body weight through energy expenditure, different research lines also suggest an indirect effect through the positive influence of PA on appetite regulation and eating behavior [19, 46–51].…”

Being active when living within a large body: experiences during lifestyle intervention

“…PA can be an important part of improving health for adults with severe obesity (Aadland & Robertson, 2012) and it is an integral part of any treatment plan due to the numerous health benefits that occur from PA even in the absence of weight loss (Swift et al, 2014). PA includes lifestyle activities, i.e., everyday tasks as well as structured exercise and is together with diet and behaviour therapy a part of multicomponent lifestyle intervention programmes for obesity (Wadden et al, 2004).…”

Diurnal Patterns of Physical Activity in Relation to Activity Induced Energy Expenditure in 52 to 83 Years-Old Adults

“…Increased fatigue reported in unfit individuals might discourage them from being physical active, especially later in the day. At the same time, physical activity interventions such as endurance training [22] or lifestyle interventions [23] have been shown to increase aerobic capacity, indicating that improved aerobic fitness is one of the outcomes of increased physical activity. Thus, aerobic fitness is a potential covariate in studies concerning physical activity.…”