Study: Exercise is Not Key For Weight Control

At my gym, in between intervals of burpees, squats, mountain climbers, and other torturous activities, instructors gently remind us that “abs are made in the kitchen.” Well, it appears that it’s not just a scare tactic, but in fact, there’s some truth to their prompts. It takes more than just hours in the gym to get in shape, and to lose or maintain weight.

A recent study found that exercise may not be the key to controlling – and losing – weight. While it’s important, research is showing that physical activity has less of an effect on weight gain than we think.

While it’s very helpful for many reasons, your diet is actually going to be the key in helping you lose weight, the study says.

Researchers who studied young adults from the United States and four other countries found that neither physical activity nor sedentary time were directly associated with weight gain.

"Our study results indicate that physical activity may not protect you from gaining weight," said lead author Lara R. Dugas, PhD, MPH. Dugas is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

One interesting note about this study is that working out increases your appetite and also makes you more likely to eat a larger meal than usual upon completion.

Some experts suggest that a decline in physical activity, especially with many of us working desk jobs, has been a large contributor to the obesity epidemic. But new research like this study, has not found a meaningful relationship between weight gain and physical activity.

The Loyola study is one of the primary outcomes of the Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study (METS). In METS, researchers followed adults aged 25 to 40 living in five countries: the United States, Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica and Seychelles (an island country east of Africa). The U.S. adults were from Maywood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Participants are predominantly of African descent and represent a broad range of social and economic development. Principal investigator of METS and senior author of the Loyola study is Amy Luke, Ph.D, professor and vice chair of Loyola's Department of Public Health Sciences.

The participants were measured and given devices to measure energy expulsion and step counts. The researchers also measured weight, height, and body fat. At the initial visit, participants from Ghana had the lowest average weights (139 pounds for both men and women), and Americans the highest weights (202 pounds for women, 206 pounds for men). Seventy-six of Ghanaian men and 44 percent of Ghanaian women met the U.S. Surgeon General physical activity guidelines, while only 44 percent of American men and 20 percent of American women met the guidelines. The guidelines recommend doing at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, per week.

Total weight gain in every country was greater among participants who met the physical activity guidelines. This was a surprise to researchers. For example, American men who met the guidelines gained a half pound per year, while American men who did not meet the guideline lost 0.6 pounds.

Researchers did not find any significant relationships between sedentary time at the initial visit and subsequent weight gain or weight loss. The only factors that were significantly associated with weight gain were weight at the initial visit, age, and gender. The participants were studied over the course of a year.

So, while it seems that every time we turn on the television or open a magazine, a new workout plan is advertised to us, what really matters is what we eat. An unhealthy diet seems to be more than likely the cause of weight gain, so don’t worry about skipping a night as the gym here and there – as long as you don’t always substitute it for a bacon cheeseburger.

Sources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170203163857.htm