PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE IN THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF OBESITY

There is also evidence that exercise reduces the risk of other chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, and cancer of the breast and colon. The lack of physical activity and increasing rates of childhood and adults obesity have received a very much attention in many countries. Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, exceeds healthy limits. It is commonly defined as a body mass index (weight divided by height squared) of 30 kg/m2 or higher. The normal amount of body fat is between 25-30% in women and 18-23% in men. Both metabolic and behavioral factors play a role in the development of obesity. The most recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 112,000 deaths are associated with obesity each year. Moreover, three-quarters of these deaths occur in people age 70 or younger. Some studies show that excessive body weight has been shown to predispose to various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, sleep apnea and osteoarthritis. Researchers showed that diet and exercise are known to play a valuable role in the treatment and prevention of obesity and associated disorders. In this review, we discuss current concepts of obesity. We describe basic issues regarding obesity and physical activity including different methods to measure obesity status, classification, epidemiology etiology, comorbidites and the roles of sport and physical activity in obesity.