Most of us have had the experience of dieting and exercising in the short-term in order to lose weight. Most of us have had the frustrating experience of gaining the weight back once we go off our diets. Maintaining healthy eating and exercising habits, and preventing weight gain as we age, are much more difficult.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School followed over 34,000 women who were not dieting. Their average age was 54.2 and they ranged from normal weight to obese. After following them for 13 years, the researchers concluded that regular exercise was significantly associated with less weight gain, but only in normal-weight women, and only if they exercised a lot. Women with a BMI of less than 25 who exercised at a moderate intensity for around an hour a day gained less than 2.3 kilos over the 13 year period. Only around 13 percent of the study participants had this result.
The results highlight the fact that exercise on its own, without dietary changes, is not likely to cause a drop in weight or even to prevent gradual weight gain. It is simply easier to eat than to burn off what you eat. Another study published in 2008 showed that women who were able to lose 10% of their body weight and maintain that loss for two years exercised for around 275 minutes per week.
The researchers could not conclude if exercise is useful for overweight or obese people who are exercising and also dieting, because none of the participants in this study considered themselves to be on a diet. It is also worth noting that normal-weight women usually eat fewer calories than overweight people all the time, so the "usual diet" between participants probably varied greatly.
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