Obesity is very much a growing concern in the UK and is one of the leading health risks. Battles with weight are common conversations we have in clinic, especially relating to joint pains and exercise.
Is exercise important in weight loss
There are numerous research papers across the web and beyond, that examine the need to focus on moderating what we eat, as the key to weight management. Most attempt to counter the idea that it is possible to maintain a healthy weight using exercise alone to compensate for poor diets or excessive calorie intake. When we look at the basic stats of how many calories are in a biscuit or cake for example, it actually takes a fair amount of exercise to burn those calories off. It is commonly known that at certain stages of our lives; as we grow, when pregnant or when we are very active; we need more calories and on the same basis, when we do less or as we age, we need fewer calories too.
Being diet obsessed is also not healthy and there are aspects to buying food which add to the problem. Low calorie, low fat, low GI etc can all look good, but are they? What has the low sugar been substituted for; exactly what is a low GI food? All of these things can be confusing.
Exercise can certainly assist in weight loss programmes and can make huge impacts on our mental and physical wellbeing at the same time. Toning up and strengthening as we loose weight is also really important, so the 2 things are great if they go hand in hand.
Impact of weight on joint pains
One statement does stand out, in relation to back and join pains, that for every 1 pound lost the impact on the weight-bearing joints is up to 4x that weight loss. Therefore even loosing a few pounds, if you need to, can greatly impact your joints.
Small changes to what we eat and drink can make big differences too. Simply cutting out those snacks, replacing sugary snacks with fruit or cutting down on alcohol can all help.
Exercise and weight management in Worthing
At Broadwater Osteopaths we help patients with exercise plans and also guide weight management. We offer a range of treatments to help through the stages of weight loss and keep you motivated and on target for your goals. Nicki Wood develops programmes for patients and even runs her own exercise classes to motivate, stretch and strengthen. Find out more here
