How Long Should Obese People Exercise Per Day?

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, according to a 2009 paper by the American College of Sports Medicine, putting most of us at risk for illness and poor quality of life. But if you're obese, you can get better. Follow the ACSM's guidelines for exercise to stop your weight gain and, eventually, to reverse it.

The ACSM recommends that healthy adults get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, five times a week. Moderate-intensity exercise includes activities that get the heart rate up, such as walking briskly. Alternatively, you can do 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise such as jogging three times a week. Additionally, the ACSM recommends that you do two strength training workouts per week that work out all major muscle groups. These recommendations are intended to keep healthy people in shape and to prevent them from becoming obese.

According to the paper "Exercise Aspects of Obesity Treatment" by Matthew A. McQueen, M.D., obese people should do aerobic exercise as frequently as healthy individuals. Vigorous-intensity exercise may be too much for someone who has been inactive, so obese individuals should start with 150 weekly minutes of moderate-intensity exercise. This will help slow or stop weight gain, but to lose weight, obese people will need to get more exercise. The ACSM recommends that obese individuals gradually work up to 250 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity exercise to increase weight loss. This can take any form: for instance, five 50-minute workouts per week or seven 37-minute workouts a week.

Obese individuals should follow the same guidelines as other healthy individuals for resistance training, working out all major muscle groups twice weekly. According to McQueen, resistance training can be good for obese people because it improves strength and will help them do other tasks. Because it can help build muscle, it can increase lean mass compared to fat. McQueen notes that resistance training alone is not enough for obese people to lose weight: It "does not seem to affect energy expenditure or absolute weight loss."

Obesity is a serious medical condition. It increases your risk of several diseases, including diabetes, cancer and heart disease. But overcoming obesity is a serious undertaking that you shouldn't attempt without medical help. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise regimen to determine if you're fit enough to do it. Your doctor can also provide advice about your diet and your ideal body weight.