America’s obesity epidemic: Measuring physical activity to promote an active lifestyle

The incidence of overweight and obesity in the United States and worldwide has reached epidemic proportions. To effectively intervene, dietetics professionals and other health care practitioners need to address both sides of the energy balance equation when counseling clients and patients. Often, th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2004-09, Vol.104 (9), p.1398-1409
Main Authors: Keim, Nancy L., Blanton, Cynthia A., Kretsch, Mary J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Basal Metabolism - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Disease
data collection
disease prevention
energy expenditure
Energy Intake
Energy Metabolism - physiology
Epidemics
Exercise
Exercise - physiology
Health Promotion
Humans
Incidence
Life Style
Measurement
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
Obesity
Obesity - complications
Obesity - epidemiology
physical activity
Public health
research methods
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:The incidence of overweight and obesity in the United States and worldwide has reached epidemic proportions. To effectively intervene, dietetics professionals and other health care practitioners need to address both sides of the energy balance equation when counseling clients and patients. Often, the focus on energy intake supersedes the promotion of a physically active lifestyle. Incorporating appropriate and sufficient physical activity into one’s life is an essential component of achieving and maintaining a healthful body weight. This review summarizes background knowledge on the benefits of physical activity for health and provides an overview of available tools for measuring physical activity and energy expenditure. The physical and mental health benefits of an active lifestyle, current physical activity recommendations for the US public, the prevalence of inactivity in the United States, and components of energy expenditure are reviewed. Additionally, tools for estimating total energy expenditure, resting metabolic rate, and physical activity are evaluated and suitable approaches for applying these tools are provided.
ISSN:0002-8223
2212-2672
1878-3570
2212-2680
DOI:10.1016/j.jada.2004.06.005