Combined Effect of Diet and Physical Activity in the Management of Obesity

Obesity is widely defined as an excess accumulation of body fat. This is the result of a positive energy balance caused by a relative excess of energy intake as compared to energy expenditure. To assess and quantify obesity, accurate and reliable measurements of body fat are difficult to obtain, expensive, and rarely performed in usual-care clinical settings. However, body mass index (BMI) is highly correlated with body fat and simple to calculate based on weight (kg) divided by height (m²). A BMI of 30 kg/m² or higher is the criteria for obesity, and it has a high, direct correlation with morbidity and mortality.