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What Are the Benefits of Exercise If Obese?

If you're obese -- meaning that you have a body mass index of 30 or higher -- exercise might be the last thing on your mind. You might feel too embarrassed to exercise, or you might feel like it's too hard. But exercise has many benefits if you're obese, both for your physical and mental health. Exercise can help you get out of the obese category and lower your risk of developing potentially life-threatening chronic diseases.

  1. Weighty Benefits

    • If your goal is to lose some of your excess pounds, exercise along with diet can help you achieve your goal. Exercise burns calories -- maybe not as many as you hope it will, but some. A 60-minute walk at a brisk pace of 3.5 miles per hour burns around 314 calories, according to MayoClinic.com. Since it takes a 3,500-calorie deficit to lose 1 pound, you'll lose 1 pound approximately every 11 days, or nearly 3 pounds per month, just by walking for an hour a day. Exercise can also boost your metabolism, so that your body keeps burning more calories throughout the day. As you replace fat with muscle, muscle also works for you by burning more calories.

    Reduction in Chronic Diseases

    • Obesity increases your risk of developing heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancers. Exercise can help reduce those risks. In an Australian review of studies on the benefits of exercise in women published in the November 2007 issue of the "American Journal of Preventative Medicine," as little as 60 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes by between 14 and 46 percent and the risk of cardiovascular disease by 28 to 58 percent. Exercise also reduced the risk of breast cancer by 11 to 67 percent. Exercise when you're obese can also help reduce high cholesterol, another risk for cardiovascular disease, found a Kansas State University study published in the November 2000 issue of the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association."

    Joint Pain Relief

    • Obesity increases your chance of developing osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, affecting around 27 million Americans, according to "Arthritis Today." An exercise program can help mitigate the pain and stiffness that osteoarthritis can cause. Exercise increases muscle strength around the joints, increases flexibility and reduces joint pain as well as fatigue. Range-of-motion exercises done daily or at a minimum, every other day, relieve joint stiffness, MayoClinic.com explains. Lifting weights helps strengthen the muscles around the joints, making it easier to move.

    Improved Mental Attitude

    • Exercise can improve your mental outlook on life and decrease depression, a common side effect of obesity. When you exercise, your brain produces endorphins and serotonin, chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel good. Even when the exercise rush fades away, the pride you feel in yourself for getting up and doing something to overcome obesity or to at least diminish some of the negative effects can leave you feeling upbeat and happier with yourself.

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