Exploring Strategies to Promote Exercise as a Viable Obesity and Chronic Disease Treatment

Obesity and its related comorbidities continue to be a primary public health concern, especially in the United States (US). Such comorbidities include the top two causes of death in the US: cardiovascular disease and cancer. Obesity is also associated with several other chronic conditions that affect millions of adults and children, including diabetes, kidney, and liver disease. Weight loss has long been considered the front-line treatment and prevention strategy for these conditions. Lifestyle approaches, including dietary modification and increasing physical activity, are typically recommended for individuals with obesity, although rates of achieving and maintaining clinically meaningful weight loss remain low. Understanding the root causes of minimal weight loss and weight regain has been a prime focus among many researchers over the past several decades. The present review addresses several advantages of prioritizing exercise as an obesity and chronic disease treatment. We discuss current challenges when exercise is the primary treatment strategy, including physiological parameters that may influence the efficacy of exercise in addition to behavioral and environmental factors that play a role in exercise adherence and adoption. We also explore strategies and principles that, although not commonly utilized in an obesity/chronic disease treatment setting, may be applied and adapted to fit this model.