For the treatment of obesity It is key to eat a healthy diet and do physical exercise. Move the more the better. But in addition, it is also important to modify other habits that are not healthy and, if indicated, follow a Pharmacotherapy to help lose weight and slim down (for example, Saxenda).
And it is that as the experts of the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity (SEEDO), in its national congress 2021,“the combination of pharmacology with the exercise could have a positive effect on fat weight loss and maintenance of muscle mass and function.”
According to the latest data published by this scientific society, in Spain, 53.8% of the population is overweight: 36.6% are overweight and and 17.2% obesity.
In Spain, 53.8% of the population is overweight: 36.6% is overweight and 17.2% is obese
“Definitely, the best exercise is the one that is done“, he affirms to laSexta.com César Bustos, expert in physical education and metabolic diseases, member of the SEEDO and founder of There are no excuses!.
Because we should not only think about exercise as it makes us sweat, suffer or have a hard time, no: “Exercise is, after all, anything that makes us move, and the more we do it, the better”.
Now, within what we call physical exercise We have to keep in mind two important aspectsexplains the expert:
- The movement that we make in the day to daythat is, daily physical activity.
- And what we call in itself physical exercise, which are all those scheduled physical activities.
More movement on a daily basis (avoid a sedentary lifestyle)
First of all, it is important to move more on a daily basis, increase daily physical activity so that there is a greater caloric expenditure. Because “the greatest caloric expenditure that occurs with physical exercise is for daily physical activityso we move on a day-to-day basis”, explains Bustos.
And this is important because “people with obesity find it more difficult to move, that is, for people who do not have that excess weight, it may not mean an extra effort, but it does for people with obesity.” For example, climbing stairs or walking at a brisk pace for a certain time.
The goal, after all, is to move more (walk, do housework, try to walk to places…) and not sit still or sit on the couch all day. It is very important in the treatment of obesity to avoid a sedentary lifestyle.
Global exercises and planned physical activities
Secondly, there would be what we know as physical exercise itself, which would be those scheduled physical activities. “In this case, the best ones are what we call global exerciseswhich make up most of the body,” says Bustos.
“These activities are exercises that require less time and in which the caloric expenditure is less than with daily movement, but the consumption or metabolic activity that it generates is greater,” adds the expert.
It would be important, among other things, also to avoid injuries, that a professional will schedule a global exercise routine and teach them how and when to practice them. “Scientifically, it has also been shown that exercise routines (short but intense exercise sessions) carried out throughout the day and periodically over time are effective, that it is not necessary to carry out long sessions that are very tiring,” he explains. Busts.
Furthermore, it is important that, as assured this professional in the last congress of the SEEDO, “training programs are attractive, appropriate to the expectations of the person, flexible for use in real life and affordable and profitable for health services”; because “weight control is a lifelong process and not a short-term goal.”
Strength training is key
In this sense, it is important to do, therefore: two types of exercises: aerobic or cardiovascular exercises “That would already be implicit in daily movement and physical activity,” says the expert; Y strength exercises (which we can do, for example, going up the stairs two by two or doing any exercise that involves force with the muscles) to preserve muscle mass during weight loss, something essential for health.
so, just like indicates the SEEDO in this report“interventions that combine high intensity aerobic exercises and exercises with high loadss produce beneficial effects that are superior to any other modality in reducing abdominal adiposity, improving muscle tone and increasing cardiorespiratory capacity.”
Thus, concludes Bustos, “the perfect exercise to lose weight it is what is done and that is incorporated into the daily routine. Move more, global exercises that involve the whole body and, of course, strength exercises”. However, professional advice and follow-up is always important.