Exercise and Weight Loss

Obesity in children has also increased at a substantial rate. It is defined as having an excessive amount of body fat with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30. It is a significant risk factor of many chronic diseases such as:

• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Different forms of cancer
• Hypertension
• Osteoarthritis
• Gall Bladder disease
• Liver and Kidney disease
• Sleep apnoea
• Depression

Obesity can be well managed through healthy lifestyle changes such as finding a healthy diet you can stick to and regular exercise. Exercise has many benefits in helping obesity such as:

• Weight loss
• Increased muscle mass
• Improved metabolic rate aiding in energy expenditure
• Improve quality of life
• Improve active daily living
• Better hormonal control Eg, Leptin, which is the hormone regulating energy expenditure and controls hunger. Leptin resistance may develop in people who are obese.
• Reduce risk of chronic illnesses

It is always recommended to start with light exercises but do it frequently to build up to a higher intensity and frequency. It’s recommended to exercise at a moderate intensity for more than or equal to 150 minutes/week of aerobic exercise (eg, 30 minutes of walking 5 times a week) with 2 days of resistance training. Our exercise physiologist can discuss with you which exercises will suit you best in order to keep you consistent without injuring yourself.

Diet plays a very important role in weight loss. Our dietitians can help you create a nutritionally adequate plan so you can lose weight and keep it off in combination with healthy exercise and physical activity.