Physical Activity Patterns in the Obese

The prevalence of obesity in the United States is rising at the same time that participation in physical activity is declining. Although exercise can reduce obesity, most Americans cannot or will not exercise enough to achieve a normal weight. However, the health benefits of exercise can be achieved without weight loss.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 50 percent of U.S. adults do not get the [Page 600]recommended amount of physical activity, while 24 percent get no physical activity at all. It is reported that from 1980 to 2004, obesity increased in adults aged 20–74 years from 15 to 33 percent. It seems the rise in obesity is simply a reflection of our sedentary lifestyle. In 2005, the three states with the highest rates of obesity—Mississippi, West Virginia, and Louisiana—were also among the highest for rates of physical inactivity. When considering the recommended 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity per day, these three states report that about 60 percent of their adult population fall below the recommendation.

Obese individuals can receive the benefits of regular exercise, even if their body weight does not normalize.

The news is just as disheartening for children and adolescents. Since 1980, the percentage of children who are classified as overweight has tripled. Today, 16 percent of children between ages 6–19 are considered overweight. More than one-third of adolescents between grades 9 and 12 get no regular vigorous physical activity. Participation in high school physical education classes has dropped from 42 to 33 percent between 1991 and 2005. These numbers are worrying because research has shown that obese adolescents have a 70-percent chance of becoming obese adults. Adult obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Clearly, it is imperative that the message of the role of daily physical activity in the lives of the obese, as well as normal-weight population, be made a priority by the American health and medical professions today.

Little information exists that focuses on the factors that influence the exercise behaviors of obese individuals. Intuitively, one might expect that increasing body fatness might be a motivating factor to increase one's physical activity. However, an equally plausible opposing view might be that an increase in body fat might cause one to be more self-conscious or embarrassed about one's appearance, resulting in a decreased desire to exercise, especially in public.

Still another argument might be made that obesity per se may not influence exercise behavior at all, and that the exercise behaviors of obese individuals are no different than those of normal-weight individuals. With regard to exercising in public, research shows that one's intention to exercise at a health club is significantly reduced as one's body mass index (BMI) increases. That is, as people become fatter, they have lower intentions of exercising at a health club. Interestingly, this significant negative relationship between body fatness and intention to exercise at a club disappears when one's perception of one's health is factored into the equation along with BMI.

In short, obese people who equated being overweight with poor health are more likely to report a lower intention to exercise at a health club, while obese people who perceive themselves as being in good health are just as likely to exercise in a club as nonobese people. Similarly, normal-weight people who perceive themselves as being unhealthy also report lower intentions to exercise at a health club than those seeing themselves as healthy.

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