Introduction:

regular physical activity can improve or reduce the incidence of an important number of organic diseases, one of them being obesity.

Objective:

To describe the importance of physical activity as a treatment for obese adults.

Methods:

a literature review was carried out using Google Scholar, SciELO and PubMed databases. Review articles, research papers and web pages were included, which were generally less than five years old, in Spanish, Portuguese or English, and which referred to the subject of the study through the title. This allowed the consultation of 90 articles, of which 50 were referenced.

Development:

obesity is a common, chronic, multifactorial disease that is a risk factor for multiple diseases. Physical activity is one of the fundamental elements in the prevention and treatment of overweight, obesity and its consequences. It has been suggested that 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week is helpful in maintaining health. However, to promote weight loss or maintenance of lost weight, more should be provided (60-90 minutes per day). Despite its beneficial effects, the prescription of physical activity should be individualized and specialized professional guidance is necessary to avoid possible adverse effects.

Conclusions:

regular physical activity, developed through strength-resistance based training and the combination in multimodal programmes with aerobic exercise, has a beneficial effect in the treatment of obese adults.

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