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Reality Check
on Exercise and Weight
A major news magazine’s
cover story sent out ripples of shock waves when it suggested
that exercise, although good for you, may not make you lose weight.
Actually, research shows that if you burn more calories without
increasing calories from food and drink, you will lose weight.
However, research also shows that exercise does not always predict
weight change. The bottom line is that many of us overestimate
the impact of how many calories we burn in the exercise we do
and don’t account for the extra calories we consume. Most
people need changes in eating habits and increased physical activity
to lose weight, not one or the other.
Recommendations for overall health,
including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer, call for
at least thirty minutes of brisk walking or other brisk exercise
daily or nearly daily. A 150-pound adult who adds that activity
daily (and doesn’t cut back on other activity) burns about
120 to 140 extra calories per day. With no changes in diet,
that should lead to weight loss of one pound in 25 to 30 days.
On the other hand, if the new walker rewards that walk with
an extra muffin, 24-ounce soda or second helping at dinner, after
25 to 30 days his or her weight would probably be a pound higher,
not lower. That’s because the increased calories from any
one of those are more than double the calories burned in the
walk. |
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Exercise does burn calories faster
in some people than others. A 150-pound adult taking a 30-minute
brisk walk may burn 140 calories, while someone who weighs 200
pounds burns about 180 calories. And while even modest exercise
burns calories in someone who’s been sedentary, activity
becomes easier as you increase fitness and burns fewer calories
unless you step up the action.
If, like most U.S. adults, you’ve
been gradually gaining weight, adding 30 minutes of moderate
exercise each day will likely stop the gain, the first priority.
If you can be patient, it could even bring weight loss of 10
or more pounds after a year. Weight loss closer to a pound each
week from exercise alone would require boosting time, intensity
or both to levels unrealistic for most people. Modest changes
in daily eating habits can add up more quickly.
Claims that exercise increases
appetite and makes it more difficult to limit calorie consumption
are not supported by the overall body of research in this field.
In fact, several studies show that exercise seems to improve
appetite control and make hunger more closely match actual calorie
needs. Further research is needed, but studies suggest that
exercise delivers this benefit by triggering changes in satiety
hormones.
Realistically, weight control
expectations shouldn’t be centered on exercise alone. In
five minutes or less of unhealthy eating you can replace the
calories it took you thirty minutes or more to burn in exercise.
The key is to make physical activity, whether in a single block
or spread throughout each day, an enjoyment rather than a punishment
that earns a reward. Remind yourself of the reality that regardless
of any impact on weight, physical activity plays a key role in
improving sleep, relieving stress, maintaining cognitive function,
and decreasing risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
This is another example of how
an overall healthy lifestyle works better than picking just one
or two elements of it. If you’re not properly fueled for
physical activity, exhaustive exercise could bring a blood sugar
drop that leaves you searching for a jelly doughnut or candy
bar. But if you provide your body with a balanced plant-based
diet including vegetables, fruit, whole grains and adequate protein
foods, research does not show that you will overeat just because
you’ve made time for the 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical
activity your body needs. |
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