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Study links exercise, long-term weight loss | |
| By The Baltimore Sun Exercise, without the agony of a low-calorie diet, may be the key to happy, healthy, long-term weight loss, according to a study published in April's Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study checked the weights of 127 men and women, one year after a weight-loss program, to find out which weight-loss method worked the best in the long run. Participants were 25 to 45 years old and were at least 30 pounds overweight. The program lasted a year, and included equal numbers of men and women divided into three groups: 1. The diet-only group went on a well-balanced, low-cholesterol eating plan, individually tailored so each person chose their favorite foods and lost about two pounds per week. They were asked not to change their exercise habits. 2. The exercise-only group developed personalized walking plans, based on how hard the walking seemed to them. They walked vigorously but not strenuously. Some started with as little as five minutes of walking per session. Their goal was to gradually build up to walking three to five times per week, for 45 minutes or more per walk. They were asked not to change their eating habits during the study. 3. The combination group received the diet and exercise instruction. Each of the groups met weekly for three months, then tapered off to monthly meetings. Eighty-six people stuck it out for the entire year. Their average weight loss: diet group, 15 pounds; exercise group, 6 pounds; combination group, 20 pounds. One year later, the 86 were invited back for a weigh-in. Sixty-one returned. Compared with their beginning weights, here's how the groups stacked up: diet group, plus 2 pounds; exercise group, minus 6 pounds; combination group, minus 5 pounds. Both groups involved in dieting had substantial weight losses during the program but experienced rebound weight gain in the following year. The exercisers had a slower weight loss during the program, then leveled off and stayed there. The researchers point to information gleaned from other studies that help explain these results: Exercise, especially when you can set the pace, feels good. The deprivation of dieting feels bad. We're more likely to do things that feel good than those that feel bad. Exercise is energizing. Dieting is fatiguing. Long-term dieting is hard to maintain because bodies conserve energy by reducing basal metabolic rate. Even a healthy diet tailored to our personal preferences requires limitations. Our hopeful expectation at the start of a diet helps overcome our sense of deprivation, but ongoing restrictions can feel like a burden. Remember, this is only one small study. It adds to our body of knowledge about weight loss, but is not the answer all by itself. If you're a lifelong dieter for whom nothing seems to work, you might build a new plan based on the ideas from this study. If you've been gaining two or three pounds every year while bouncing from one diet to another, give exercise a try. | |