Question

I am overweight, have difficulty walking and am short of breath, with bronchitis. What exercise can I do?

Answer

Physical activity increases energy expenditure, physical fitness and sensitivity to the action of insulin, all of which are valuable effects for overweight people. There is very good evidence that even people severely restricted by shortness of breath with advanced emphysema and bronchitis benefit from exercise programmes. Certainly, providing your medical conditions allow you to do so, exercise can do nothing but good for you. But you must take great care. The type of exercise you do depends very much on your physical and medical conditions. Certainly you should take exercise within the limitations of your exercise tolerance. Programmes for people with health or severe weight problems, such as yourself, must be supervised by a trained physiotherapist and you should be entered onto an exercise programme by your own doctor.

Note that exercise alone will not therefore help you to lose weight.Even if you were able to do something like jogging for 1 hour per day you would only use up about 300 kcal more than somebody who had spent that hour resting.

Finally, we repeat that you should not undertake any exercise programmes without your own doctor's recommendation.

Links

• Exercise programs, a primer