Weight Management

Exercise is playing an increasingly important role in weight management and overall fitness for people of all ages. The newly revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizes the importance of physical activity for both weight control and health. Weight maintenance rather than weight loss should be the primary focus. The new guidelines challenge some of the conventional dietary guidelines for healthy Americans. Key messages include:

Weight maintenance is the first step in achieving a healthy weight and reducing obesity

• No weight gain with age
• Healthy weight ranges are the same for women and men

The Guidelines encourage people to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary activity in order to maintain or lose weight, recommending a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical exercise every day. They also recognize the link between weight gain and health risks (i.e. premature death) for adults. And they acknowledge that the distribution of fat in the body affects the risks associated with obesity, identifying exercise as one of the few factors that reduces central body fat.

Planning an exercise program should be based on personal goals as well as on individual capabilities. The most important element is to think long-term and make exercise a permanent part of your life.
Moderately Intense Activities:

• Brisk Walking (3-4 mph)
• Cycling (10 mph)
• Swimming or calisthenics
• Racket sports or table tennis
• Golf (without cart)
• Housecleaning, general*
• Raking leaves*
• Dancing*
• Playing actively with children*

*Considered moderate only if they are performed at an intensity comparable to brisk walking.

See our line of body fat measurement scales

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association 273:402:1995.)