Balance eating and exercise to prevent obesity: regularity required

doi:10.15406/aowmc.2016.04.00110

Advances in

eISSN: 2378-3168

Obesity, Weight Management & Control

Perspective Special Issue Causes of Obesity

Balance eating and exercise to prevent obesity: regularity required

Akbar Nikkhah

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Department of Animal Sciences, University of Zanjan, Iran

Correspondence: Akbar Nikkhah, Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zanjan, Chief Highly Distinguished Professor, Foremost Principal Highly Distinguished Elite-Generating Scientist, National Elite Foundation, Iran

Received: May 31, 2016 | Published: June 1, 2016

Citation: Nikkhah A. Balance eating and exercise to prevent obesity: regularity required. Adv Obes Weight Manag Control. 2016;4(6):154-1555. DOI: 10.15406/aowmc.2016.04.00110

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Abstract

Obesity as a rising problem of the modern age requires meticulous prevention strategies. This article highlights the significance of a balance between eating and exercise in overcoming obesity. Increased irregular exercise can greatly increase appetite and eating and cause obesity. Care must be taken to maintain regular and moderately intense patterns of exercise to have eating under control.

Key words: obesity, balance, eating, exercise, regularity

Discussion

Obesity as a disease of the modern age reduces life quality and satisfaction severely. Thus, effective prevention strategies are required to minimize its occurrence. Confusion and controversy exist on the relative importance of eating and exercise in helping to prevent obesity. This article, therefore, provides a new perspective that highlights how a delicate balance between eating and exercise can reduce obesity.

Eating and exercise must have fitting circadian patterns to target the same goal.^1–4 Since eating is usually practiced on given rhythms (e.g., a minimum of three times major meal eating plus inter-meal snacks and fruits), it’s fitting exercise must also occur on certain rhythms such that substrate supply and oxidation rates are harmonized.^5–7 Any uncertainty or irregularity in performing exercise may exacerbate the problem.^8–12 One obvious example is when exercise is conducted irregularly (e.g., once in a while) and over-intensely that stimulates appetite and causes overeating. The latter increases energy deposition and fuels a prolonged imbalance of substrate supply and oxidation in favour of energy supply and obesity.

Exercise does not need to be over-intense to augment weight loss and prevent obesity. As long as it is practiced regularly, intensely and joyfully, exercise can fuel a prolonged gradual balance between nutrient supply and oxidation that prevents unnecessary weight gain. An ideal strategy is to have physical activity every day and multiple times a day. However, successful strategies include exercising daily or every other daily but intensely enough to cause sweating and prolonged rises in heart rate. Having intense physical activity for only once a week would neither be sufficient nor completely healthy. Morning eating and evening exercise are additional examples in creating a healthy balance between eating and exercise.¹³

Perfectly, each and every eating-sitting session should have its corresponding energy-burning exercise session.^14–17 The desperately busy lifestyle may not allow this to be realized. Nonetheless, what can be done are reduced eating-sitting and increased exercise to maintain a balance between nutrient supply and oxidation.^3–5 For example, taking multiple small meals a day and performing at least one intense exercise session daily or every other daily help in narrowing the balance gap. Maintaining such a balance can be critical in securing a quality cancer-free lifestyle.²

Implication

Exercise must be performed regularly and frequently and not necessarily over-intensely but infrequently. Irregular and infrequent exercise can greatly increase appetite and eating and cause obesity.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Ministry of Science Research and Technology and National Elite Foundation for supporting the author’s global initiatives and programs of optimizing science edification in the third millennium.