You Can't Lose Weight Just by Exercising

I'm not sure this will be earth-shaking news, but according to a study reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday this week, it is virtually impossible to lose weight just by exercising. Restriction of calorie intake is an important part of the overall process.

The study, undertaken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (a government body) and published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed 34,079 non-dieting women for 13 years. About 13% of these women started the study with a healthy weight, a BMI under 25, and gained little or no weight over the 13 years. These women reported doing the equivalent of an hour of moderate activity each day. More overweight women in the study rarely reported doing anything near this much, and they also consumed more calories. (Does this sound familiar yet?) One of the conclusions of the study is that the guidelines issued by the US government in 2008 recommending half an hour of exercise five days a week will not stop any weight gain unless combined with calorie restriction. It seems that some people think that the exercise alone is likely to stop weight gain.

Here's a little thought to leave you with: Dr Howard Eisenson of Duke University, quoted by the AP, reminds us that a candy bar is about 200 calories. To burn that off would take an hour of moderate speed walking.