Hit the track or cut the fat?

For years, experts have argued about the best way to lose those excess kilos. But there is now growing evidence to show that exercise rather than dieting is the best way to lose weight.

 

A Canadian study of obese middle-aged men found that a vigorous daily walk was a more effective way to lose weight than strict calorie control. Speaking at last month's Australian Society for the Study of Obesity, in Brisbane, Associate Professor Bob Ross, from Canada's Queen's University, said exercise without any special diet is "pound for pound the optimal form of obesity reduction."

 

Professor Ross compared two groups of overweight men - one group walked daily for 55 minutes as part of a 12 week program, the other group consumed only 700 calories per day, but did no exercise. Both groups achieved the weight loss goal of 7.5kg and both groups lost 7cm from their waists, but the exercise group lost more fat in total and proportionately more from their visceral fat stores. Aussie Bodies fitness expert Gary Himing believes this is the result of the fat-burning power of muscle. "People who exercise have more muscle as a proportion of their body which speeds up their metabolism. This means your body uses more energy and burns more fat, even when you're asleep."

 

Another speaker at the Obesity Conference said the epidemic of obesity in Western nations was an exercise problem not an eating problem. Professor James Hill from the University of Colorado told the Brisbane conference that the West had used technology to reduce physical activity to a bare minimum. From electric car windows to escalators, the modern world discourages physical activity. He said it is now almost impossible, given our sedentary lifestyles, to reduce our calorie intake to the low level of our daily energy use. If we don't exercise, we are doomed to become fat.