Is Exercise Or Diet Better For Weight Loss?
There is some debate about the effectiveness of diet or exercise for losing weight. Of course, most sensible doctors and nutritionists will say to eat a sensible diet and engage in some moderate activity. But if you only had to concentrate on picking one of these things, which one should it be?
I scientific study actually tried to answer this questions. Some of the results of this study were not that surprising, but some were eye opening. It might tell you which approach works better, but it might tell you which approach does more for your overall health.
Basically the study took a group of moderately overweight and fairly sedentary middle aged men and split these men into four smaller groups. These men were fairly healthy, but just not very fit. So any conclusions from this study should not be applied to severely obese or unhealthy people. However, this group might be more typical of most people with weight problems who are struggling with weight loss.
One group was not too change anything about their lives. On group was put on a reduced calorie diet. A third group had their diet left the same, but was given a mild exercise routine to perform several times a week. The final group would stick to the diet and get more exercise.
It should not surprise you to learn that the group that did not change anything did not lose any weight or show improvements in other signs of fitness. On the other hand, the group that dieted and exercise did lose weight and got healthier.
The real information found in this study lies in comparing the group who only dieted and the group that only exercised. Both groups did lose some weight.
This study was not all about weight loss too. It also measured things like cholesterol, blood pressure, and pulse. These may be better indicators of fitness than weight alone, though they do tend to be better in people who are slimmer and more fit.
The group that exercised did much better on all counts than the group that only dieted. Remember that the group that exercised did nothing to improve their diet. They still benefited from lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, and a slower pulse rate than the group that only dieted.
Is Diet Or Exercise Better For Your Health?
This is the right question, of course. Is dieting or exercise more important for your overall fitness? While a sensible diet and moderate exercise is best, increasing your activity level may help you get healthy even more than watching your fats, carbohydrates, or even calories.
The level with increased activity was not to make any conscious diet changes, but to be fair, many studies have shown that moderate exercise actually reduces appetites in people who ate too much before. This was not part of the control for the study, but it would be interesting to see it included in the next study.
If you have to do something, exercise. If possible, eat more sensibly.
