Two things that are epidemic in the United States and many Western countries are low back pain and obesity. The two go hand-in-hand and while excessive weight may not be the only cause of your pain, it does makes matters worse by aggravating your pain through increased loading on the disks of the lower back. In addition, most people with low back pain or who are excessively heavy are also very physically inactive and a sedentary lifestyle increases one’s risk for both weight gain and back pain.
For those who are both overweight and suffer from back pain, the first step to becoming more active is to perform movements that don’t increase pain. For most people, walking is a great place to start. If your back hurts when you walk or you are so heavy that walking causes your knees to ache, then you may need to start by walking in a pool. The important thing is to get moving because losing weight is easier if you can burn more calories. Walking will also improve the strength of your low back muscles, which may lessen your pain and make it easier to exercise to a greater extent.
