Background: Overweight and obesity has become an increasing health issue around the world, which leads to an increase of cardiovascular diseases. The reason for this is a lack of physical activity in combination with an overconsumption of unhealthy food. In the primary healthcare is the ordination of physical activity on prescription offered as a treatment, which is an important health preventive action. When clients get physical activity on prescription they are given the opportunity to receive health counseling as a way to motivate a change in an unhealthy way of living.

Objectives: This study aim to examine the experience of the health counseling of individuals with overweight related problems, in combination with the prescription of physical activity.

Method: Qualitative interviews were chosen as method. Nine individuals participated in the study, seven females and two males, who had been to health counseling at Friskvården in Värmland. The criteria to be a part of the study were that the clients had been prescribed physical activity due to their overweight problems, and that they had been to at least two health counseling meetings. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results: The analysis resulted in four categories; The unhealthy society, Experiences from the health counseling, Positive effects of the health counseling, and Physical activity on prescription. The result shows that a group of individuals experience that the most important aspects of the health counseling is social support, encouragement, confirmation, guidance and the push forward. The result also shows that physical activity on prescription is experienced as a good and rewarding method of treatment for people with overweight. The conclusion of the result in this study is that health counseling is of great importance in changing lifestyle, and that physical activity on prescription has helped these clients to a better health and an increase in wellbeing.