Finally, the argument over which is better for losing weight - diet versus diet and exercise - is settled. Calories in – calories out. A friend of mine says that every time I complain to her about not losing any weight. It’s quite irritating, but as it turns out, absolutely true, according to scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. In fact, they’ve shown that dieting alone is as effective at reducing weight and ridding yourself of the fat as diet and exercise in combination.
In their recently published study, the Pennington researchers followed 35 healthy but overweight people – people with a body mass index- or BMI- of between 25 and 30. They were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: 1) a healthy diet aimed at maintaining their weight; 2) a diet with a caloric intake reduced by 25% per day; and 3) a diet with a caloric intake reduced by 12.5% fewer calories combined with increased physical activity designed to achieve a 12.5% increase in caloric burn, per day.
The study ran for 6 months, and over that time the participants went to weekly meetings designed to boost their motivation, help them stick to their meal plans, and generally keep them on track.
The results at the end of the study showed that both the group that had a calorie restricted diet and the group that combined a restricted diet with exercise lost approximately 10% of their body weight, 24% of their fat mass, and 27% of their abdominal visceral fat. Interestingly, the fat distribution within the body didn’t change in either of these two groups. This result led the researchers to conclude that people are genetically programmed for fat storage, and that this programming cannot easily be overcome. That’s not very good news…
However, while there were no differences between the 2 regimens as far as weight loss went, the study authors rightly point out that exercise is known to improve a person’s aerobic fitness. This has important benefits in terms of cardiovascular and metabolic health. So, they argue, if you eat a healthy diet and exercise, you will likely be healthier than if you just eat a healthy or calorie reduced diet. That sounds like common sense to me.
If you have a comment, contact claire@knowitallhealth.com
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, January 2, 2007.
Reviewed: December 23rd, 2007
What is BMI?
BMI is the acronym for Body Mass Index. BMI is a formula assessing a person’s body weight relative to his or her height. BMI is used to determine whether you are at your correct weight for your height - or are overweight, or obese.
What is abdominal visceral fat?
The fat that surrounds or covers the organs in your abdomen. Those organs are the esophagus, the pancreas, the liver, the large and small intestines, the rectum, the gall bladder, the stomach, and the appendix.
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