The conventional wisdom has been pounded into us: Exercise is the key to losing weight. But the conventional wisdom is not always correct, and the notion that regular, vigorous activity that burns a lot of calories is the key to losing weight is under challenge. An 2009 article in Time magazine titled "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" concluded that gym rats aren't necessarily more likely to lose weight than couch potatoes, in large part because exercise makes you hungrier. The calories you expend in the gym or running long distances often are outweighed by your increased food consumption after the workout is over. Exercise does improve your health, but not even rigorous and regular exercise is guaranteed to lead to weight loss.
Conventional Wisdom
The conventional wisdom that exercise is critical for weight loss is a fairly recent assumption. In the 1960s, doctors advised against rigorous exercise, especially for older people. Now the conventional wisdom is expressed by MedlinePlus, the website of the U.S. Library of Medicine. Keeping your weight down is described in ascetic terms of a "lifetime commitment of time and effort. Exercise and eating right must become things that you do without question, like bathing and brushing your teeth."
Unconventional Wisdom
As the Time article explains, several research studies indicate that the role of exercise in weight loss is "wildly overstated." Eric Ravussin, a professor at LSU and a prominent exercise researcher, is quoted in the Time article as saying, "In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless." It is a given that you must burn more calories you take in to lose weight. But exercise stimulates hunger, and might make weight loss even more difficult. Whether exercise creates a physical demand for food, gives us a reason to reward ourselves for working out, or both, we seem to be wired to eat more after exercising, often wiping out the weight-loss benefits of a calorie-burning workout with a sports drink or energy bar.
Contradictions
The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine issued guidelines in 2007 calling for Americans to exercise 60 to 90 minutes on most days. Although vigorous exercise is usually recommended for weight loss, studies have found that kids who move in short bursts are no more overweight than kids who play rigorous team sports.
Considerations
It might be better to exercise moderately and focus on the foods that we eat. "It's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight," according to the Time article. But exercise, in whatever form, makes us healthier if not thinner. Regular exercise reduces the risk of suffering stokes, heart attacks and diabetes. So don't stop exercising. Just don't expect exercise to melt off the pounds.
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