Even a small amount of exercise can go a long way toward helping severely obese individuals improve their quality of life and complete important daily tasks.

In a pre-program assessment where patients reported an average of just under one hour of exercise per week, individuals who were more active reported better overall-quality of life. They also reported improvements in their ability to perform daily tasks.

Quality of life improvements associated with higher activity levels included the ability to complete basic daily tasks such as getting up from chairs, using the stairs, dressing and undressing, and improvements to physical symptoms like shortness of breath.