Exercise won't cure obesity

[Amby 490]

Physical activity has many proven benefits.

It strengthens bones and muscles, improves mental health and mood, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, breast cancer and colon cancer. Exercise is also good for your brain.

It may not be a cure-all for obesity, however.

Though better nutrition coupled with exercise has long been the favored prescription for losing weight and avoiding obesity, a new study suggests diet actually plays the key role.

Researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds.

Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity.

"Decreased physical activity may not be the primary driver of the obesity epidemic," said Loyola nutritionist Amy Luke, a member of the study team.

Burn more, eat more

U.S. government guidelines state that each week, adults need at least 2 ½ hours of moderate aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (such as jogging). Adults also should do muscle-strengthening activities, such as weight-lifting or sit-ups, at least twice a week.

The benefits to overall health are clear. Exercise has even been shown to improve kids' academic performance.

People burn more calories when they exercise. Thing is, they compensate by eating more, said Richard Cooper, co-author of the study and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology.

"We would love to say that physical activity has a positive effect on weight control, but that does not appear to be the case," Cooper said.

Diet differences

Diet is a more likely explanation than physical activity expenditure for why Chicago women weigh more than Nigerian women, Luke said. She noted the Nigerian diet is high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat and animal protein. By contrast, the Chicago diet is 40 percent to 45 percent fat and high in processed foods.

More research seems to be needed, however, as the new finding conflicts with other studies. A study in the September issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine found that Old Order Amish people who had a gene related to obesity stayed thin nonetheless because they exercised a lot.

Yet results of the new study are similar to those of a 2007 study of men and women in Jamaica. Researchers from Loyola and other centers found there was no association between weight gain and calories burned during physical activity.

"Evidence is beginning to accumulate that dietary intake may be more important than energy expenditure level," Luke said. "Weight loss is not likely to happen without dietary restraint."

The results, announced in a statement from the university today, were published in the September 2008 issue of the journal Obesity.

Other centers involved in the study include University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Howard University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Wisconsin.

http://www.livescience.com/health/090106-e...se-obesity.html

[mawilson 2,133]

Well...

Diet = Calories In

Exercise = Calories Out

If Calories In > Calories Out, you won't lose any weight.

[Amby 490]

Well...

Diet = Calories In

Exercise = Calories Out

If Calories In > Calories Out, you won't lose any weight.

you and rogue should be motivational speakers!

[luckytxn 2,264]

Kinda wonder how much they spent on this study and why.

[Uncle Wally 2]

I plan on getting rich by selling my breakthrough new weight loss plan.

I call it Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise ©

With Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise © you'll be able to shed those pounds and keep them off.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Interesting. You can actually lose a lot of weight just by changing your diet. Amazing the difference it makes if you cut out bread, sugar and potatoes.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Or do as I do and don't cut the good stuff out but eat moderately and exercize somewhat.

[amberdima 6]

when a person greatly decreases their calorie intake, their body goes into 'starvation mode.' One may lose weight initially, but it will likely be water and muscle loss as opposed to fat loss. the key is simple and obvious, as some posters have previously stated: a good balance of healthy eating and exercise will improve your quality of life.

our bodies were designed to perform manual labor for survival; however, our civilization has developed technologies that allow us (including me) to sit on our asses all day and get paid...to walk to the refrigerator and pop something in the microwave rather than farming, hunting, preparing grains for baking, chopping wood for warmth and building shelter.

we also were not designed to sit and eat large meals 3 x's daily. we should be grazing throughout the day...eating small portions 5-6 x's daily. to accommodate what we were designed to do to maintain a healthy body is extremely difficult in the society we've created. i've battled it for yrs. good luck!

[Amby 490]

I plan on getting rich by selling my breakthrough new weight loss plan.

I call it Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise ©

With Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise © you'll be able to shed those pounds and keep them off.

great plan

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Its not always the amount of calories you take in, its the type of calories. Most people just focus on fat and carb intake and ignore the glycemic index.

[Niels Bohr 72]

This type of study is an embarrassment to medicine. There's no concrete evidence to support their conclusion. Instead, it creates hysteria for the morons who will actually listen to it.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

I think there's some truth in this study. I flog myself half to death in the gym 4 to 5 times week, but although it's supposedly good for me, it gives me a voracious appetite afterwards, and I tend to eat like a horse, and as such, don't lose much weight.

After ballooning to a wholly unacceptable 16 stone (224lbs in your money) over xmas, I've adopted a different approach, that being concentrating far more on the diet side of things (i.e. cutting out the red meat, pringles, cheesecakes etc) and focusing less on exercise. I'm making a concious effort to consume no more than 1500 calories a day. It means I'm constantly ###### starving, but if that's how it has to be in order to get rid of my mewbs, then so be it.

I plan on getting rich by selling my breakthrough new weight loss plan.

I call it Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise ©

With Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise © you'll be able to shed those pounds and keep them off.

great plan

[amberdima 6]

I think there's some truth in this study. I flog myself half to death in the gym 4 to 5 times week, but although it's supposedly good for me, it gives me a voracious appetite afterwards, and I tend to eat like a horse, and as such, don't lose much weight.

After ballooning to a wholly unacceptable 16 stone (224lbs in your money) over xmas, I've adopted a different approach, that being concentrating far more on the diet side of things (i.e. cutting out the red meat, pringles, cheesecakes etc) and focusing less on exercise. I'm making a concious effort to consume no more than 1500 calories a day. It means I'm constantly ###### starving, but if that's how it has to be in order to get rid of my mewbs, then so be it.

I plan on getting rich by selling my breakthrough new weight loss plan.

I call it Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise ©

With Stop Eating like Sh!t and Get Some F*cking Exercise © you'll be able to shed those pounds and keep them off.

great plan

1,500 a day is super low for a big guy. fyi- i'm no expert, but i have worked in a hospital-based health club for 3 yrs, so i get to see people trying different diets and exercise plans. i agree with an earlier post about the quality of calories. i'm also ravenous after a workout. try chowing down on some quality foods after- whole grains, fruits, veggies.

[truffles 2]

Have to agree with amberdima - for example thinking back to 40's & 50's - the average housewife had no labour saving devices and would clean her carpet by taking outside and beatring it, I can tell you personally that would wipe me out for the day!. They expended a lot of energy on chores and didnt have a choice in the supermarket to choose " low fat " versions of foods, yet they maintained a healthy size and weight. It probably helped having muscle mass as muscles burn energy just to maintain themselves.

Portion sizes are also a consideration, I was shocked to be offered a cookie 3 times the size of a standard biscuit in UK - my OH always decries the food portions he received in the UK, sadly the UK is following the trend of supersize.

How many people ( and I confess I have done this myself) don't bother to look on the packet, tin etc to find out what a recommended portion actually is?

I agree with the calories in v calories out formula - of course you can get a lot more for your calorie if you have some nutritional knowledge.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

1,500 a day is super low for a big guy. fyi- i'm no expert, but i have worked in a hospital-based health club for 3 yrs, so i get to see people trying different diets and exercise plans. i agree with an earlier post about the quality of calories. i'm also ravenous after a workout. try chowing down on some quality foods after- whole grains, fruits, veggies.

I hear you, but it's easier said than done!! My appetite after a serious workout is similar to my appetite after a few beers - grains and veggies just don't cut the mustard! It's got to be a big, fat meat & potatoes combo of some sort. Which, incidentally, is why I've also canned the beer. And that's the way it's staying until I hit my perfect fighting weight of 14 stone (196lbs). Once I hit that, the idea is to then go back to eating ####### I like, and counterbalancing that with the extreme workouts.

See? I got it all figured out!