Obesity is a common problem that touches most cities throughout the entire United States, In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now suggests that more than 72 million adults are obese in the United States. Unfortunately, obesity is connected to a wide range of health problems which can affect both the length and quality of your life, including heart disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancer. One of the best ways to combat obesity is with exercise, but when carrying around excess weight, exercise can be difficult. Luckily, water can be used to help assist you in getting healthy regardless of your weight, through the use of swimming exercises.
Buoyancy
Swimming exercises help those who are obese exercise more easily by supporting part of their body weight. This is done through the natural buoyancy of water. When you exercise in water up to your waist, as much as 50 percent of your body weight is supported. In water up to your neck, as much as 90 percent of your body weight is supported by the water's buoyancy, suggests Andrew J. Cole, M.D., from the University of Washington. This reduces the amount of weight your body has to support when performing exercises in the water, allowing easier movement.
Resistance
While water helps support part of your weight, it still provides exercise for the body through the natural resistance of water. Any movement of a body part that is submerged in the water will be challenged by this resistance. The resistance increases the amount of energy being used by your body, resulting in calories burned for new energy. The resistance also helps build more muscle tissue, which increases how efficiently your body burns calories, suggests MayoClinic.com.
Benefits
The main benefits of swimming exercises for the obese is the amount of calories that the activity can burn while producing little physical impact on the body. This allows you to lose weight while reducing pain in the joints of your ankles, knees and back, which normally would be stressed by the excess weight you carry on your body. As you lose weight with swimming exercise, your risk for obesity-related diseases and conditions decreases, including your risks for heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, metabolic disorders and even some forms of cancer. The weight loss and muscle strengthening from the exercise can also increase your mobility, along with your quality of life.
Considerations
It's important to understand that swimming exercises do not count as a weight-bearing activity. Weight-bearing exercises like walking, jumping and strength training with free weights all place weight on your bones. This weight is essential for promoting the activity of osteoblasts --- cells that strengthen your bone-mineral density --- which is an important benefit of exercise. While swimming can be used to help increase your calorie burn and reduce the impact of exercise on your joints, some weight-bearing activities should still be included in your exercise routine. Start with simple activities such as walking around the block a few days a week. Slowly increase the time and distance, and include other weight-bearing exercises into your routine as you lose weight and build strength. This will continue to challenge your body to keep you on track toward a healthy weight.
References
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Halting the Epidemic by Making Health Easier --- At A Glance 2011
- Spine-Health; Pool Therapy to Relieve Osteoarthritis Pain; Andrew J. Cole, M.D., and Bruce E. Becker, M.D.
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training --- Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
- Spine-Health; Regular Weight-bearing Exercise; Scott Boden, M.D.
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Benefits of Water-based Exercise
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