The staff of the Mayo Clinic includes lowering your blood pressure, lowering your cholesterol level, preventing type 2 diabetes and helping with weight control among the benefits of exercise. Exercise burns calories, the staff says, and the more calories you use, the better your chance of keeping your weight down. Becoming physically active is an integral part of any weight loss plan, but whether or not exercise on its own is effective as a weight loss agent is a subject that interests many researchers.
Exercise Can Burn Fat
When you exercise to lose weight, you want to burn the fat stored in your body. You burn more fat calories if you work out at a lower intensity, the New York Times quoted from Dr. Dan Carey, assistant professor at the University of St. Thomas. This means you can lose your body fat through exercise, but only if you do not replace all the calories afterwards, Carey said. Exercise will help you lose weight, but your calorie consumption makes the difference.
Scientific Evidence
The "British Journal of Sports Medicine" published a study by Neil King and associates in September 2009 that looked at the effect of exercise on different parameters, including body weight. Fifty-eight obese subjects took part in an aerobics program five times per week for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, the average weight loss was about 7 lb., but 26 of the 58 subjects did not lose as much weight as expected for the amount of energy expended during exercise. There was a marked improvement in blood pressure, resting heart rate, mood and aerobic capacity in all the subjects, however. The researchers concluded that exercise by itself may not produce as much weight loss as expected, but should be incorporated into your lifestyle because of the other benefits.
Exercise May Not Induce Extra Fat Burning
Dr. Edward Melanson reported a study in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" in December 2009 that evaluated the effect of exercise on the fat burning capacity of individuals. The subjects chosen were inactive and lean, inactive and obese or lean athletes. Energy was replaced during the experiment, which required that subjects use a stationary bike for 1 hour and then have their energy expenditure and fat oxidation measured over a 24-hour period. The control was similar measurements on days when no exercise occurred. The results showed that if you exercise but then replace the energy used during the exercise, there is no increase in fat burning over the next 24 hours and you may actually burn less. The conclusion drawn from the experiment by the researchers was that the energy balance is important if exercise is to be useful for burning fat.
Combining Exercise and Diet
The calories you use when you exercise may leave you feeling hungrier and likely to eat more, dietitian Keri Glassman told CBS News. Exercise can help you lose weight, but you need to combine it with a proper diet to be effective, Glassman said. When exercise brings on hunger pangs, fill up on low calorie, high fiber foods, proteins and healthy fats. Your calorie intake will remain less than your calorie output, and you will lose weight.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Exercise: 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine": Beneficial Effects of Exercise, Neil King, Sept 2009
- "Journal of Applied Physiology": Exercise and Negative Fat Balance, E. Melanson et al, Dec 2009
- New York Times: Why Doesn't Exercise Lead to Weight Loss
- CBS News: Can Exercise Make You Gain Weight
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