Study finds how exercise is more important than diet to maintain weight loss

Physical activity helps maintain significant weight loss more effectively than diet according to a recent study from the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Centre AHWC at the CU Anschutz Medical CampusThe study published in the March issue of Obesity was selected as the Editors Choice articleThis study addresses the difficult question of why so many people struggle to keep weight off over a long period By providing evidence that a group of successful weightloss maintainers engages in high levels of physical activity to prevent weight regain rather than chronically restricting their energy intake is a step forward to clarifying the relationship between exercise and weightloss maintenance said Danielle Ostendorf PhD a postdoctoral fellow at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness CenterThe findings reveal that successful weightloss maintainers rely on physical activity to remain in energy balance rather than chronic restriction of dietary intake to avoid weight regain In the study successful weightloss maintainers are individuals who maintain a reduced body weight of 30 pounds or more for over a yearOur findings suggest that this group of successful weightloss maintainers are consuming a similar number of calories per day as individuals with overweight and obesity but appear to avoid weight regain by compensating for this with high levels of physical activity said Victoria A Catenacci MD a weight management physician and researcher at CU Anschutz Medical CampusThe study looked at successful weightloss maintainers compared to two other groups controls with normal body weight Body Mass Index BMI similar to the current BMI of the weightloss maintainers and controls with overweightobesity whose current BMI was similar to the preweightloss BMI of the maintainers The weightloss maintainers had a body weight of around 150 pounds which was similar to the normal weight controls while the controls with overweight and obesity had a body weight of around 213 poundsThis study is one of the few to measure total daily energy expenditure in weightreduced individuals using the gold standard doubly labeled water method This method allows researchers to precisely determine an individuals energy expenditure by collecting urine samples over one to two weeks after people are given a dose of doubly labeled water Doubly labeled water is water in which both the hydrogen and the oxygen atoms have been replaced ie labeled with an uncommon isotope of these elements for tracing purposesThe measure of total daily energy expenditure from doubly labeled water also provides an estimate of energy intake when people are weight stable as they were in this study Prior studies used questionnaires or diet diaries to measure energy intake which has significant limitationsThe researchers also measured each individuals resting metabolic rate in order to understand how much of the total daily energy expenditure is from energy expended at rest versus energy expended during physical activity Prior studies used selfreported measures or activity monitors to measure physical activity which are techniques that cannot provide the same accuracyAlso Read Can the timing of your food consumption affect weight lossThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever