Can regular physical activity prevent obesity?
Part 1: Potential factors reducing the efficacy of physical activity.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v12i2.272Keywords:
physical activity, exercise, science, lifestyle, obesityAbstract
Objective. The objective of this narrative review is to consider possible factors limiting the efficacy of regular physical activity as a means of preventing the development of obesity and/or treating established accumulations of body fat. Methods. Information obtained from Ovid/Medline and Google Scholar through to December 2018 was supplemented by a search of the author's extensive personal files. Results. In the early years of human history, humans probably evolved mechanisms to reduce energy expenditures during periods of severe food shortage. Adaptations could have included a decrease in resting energy expenditures and/or the temporary elimination of all except essential physical activities. However, it is less certain that such mechanisms operate when a person who has an excess of body fat conforms to rigid dietary restrictions and/or undertakes a rigorous exercise programme. Severe dieting may indeed lead to some reduction of resting metabolism, but such effects are commonly attenuated if not fully reversed by the inclusion of an exercise programmes that conserve lean tissue mass. There is also little evidence that exercise programmes stimulate appetite or reduce spontaneous leisure activity. Conclusions. An excess of adipose tissue is usually accumulated over several years. If one views the prevention and/or correction of obesity by an increase of physical activity as a similar long-term project, the required exercise is within the capacity of those who are overweight. There is no good reason why a well-designed exercise programme cannot optimize body composition, as well as offering other important health benefits; however, as with rigorous dieting, the challenge to health professionals is to sustain enthusiasm until this has been accomplished.
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