Exercise and obesity treatment: psychological aspects.

Exercise is clearly beneficial as a means for losing weight and keeping it off. Given recent studies showing its association with maintenance, it would be difficult to argue that any factor is more important than exercise. For an exercise program to be helpful for obese persons, the challenges of exercise adherence must be considered, as must the mechanisms linking exercise to weight control. Both argue for whatever activity an individual will undertake that will produce the psychological effects that promote weight control.