by Carol Ewing Garber, PhD, FAHA, FACSM

Dr. Garber is with Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York.

Introduction
It is clear that a physically active lifestyle is important for good health and promoting and maintaining weight loss.[1–4] Following bariatric surgery, patients who are physically active lose more weight,[5–7] and greater weight loss is associated with improved quality of life,[5] reduced all-cause mortality, and mortality due to cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, with the greatest impact on mortality due to the reduction in cancer deaths.[8] Exercise volumes of at least 1,000 to 1,200kcal per week (approximately 150 minutes per week) are ideal for most adults to attain the majority of substantial health and fitness benefits of exercise, but as much as 1,800 to 2,200kcal per week (>250 minutes per week) in purposeful exercise and physical activity may be needed to promote and maintain weight loss, especially among persons who spend much of their time in sedentary pursuits.[1,2,4]

There are many benefits of regular physical activity beyond weight loss that are particularly important to patients being treated with bariatric surgery, and that make physical activity a vital complementary health measure for these patients.

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