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Nov 9, 2009 10:56 pm US/Central
Good Question: Diet Or Exercise To Lose Weight?
(WCCO)
It is a question that's interested researchers and those of us who are looking to shed a few extra pounds. What's the best way to lose weight? Changing our diets or increasing our exercise?
"Initially, cutting back on calories, you are definitely going to probably see the impact of weight loss sooner than you will see it through exercise alone," said Stephanie Kovarik, a registered dietitian. Kovarik does weight-loss counseling at JourneyWell, a division of HealthPartners focused on coaching workplaces and employees to live healthier lives.
"But I don't want to imply that exercise isn't important," added Kovarik.
A 2006 University of Minnesota study found that overweight and obese women who increased their exercise regimen, even dramatically, did not lose weight without changing their diets.
"You can cut 500 calories or 250 calories a day, quicker than you can maybe burn that amount of calories," said Kovarik. "That simply is a candy bar and a 20-ounce soda."
Most of the studies have compared dropping calories and fatty foods from the diet against people doing low-impact aerobic exercises. Time Magazine wrote an article about this called "
Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin."
However, advocates for exercise as a component of weight loss point out that many people who are trying to lose weight through exercise are doing the wrong types of exercise. Rather than trying to walk your way to weight-loss on a treadmill, most trainers recommend interval training, where bursts of extremely high activity are followed by periods of relative rest.
For people trying to do the work on their own, however, Kovarik said the research is fairly clear.
"It's hard to lose weight alone on exercise. Initially, we can lose weight on diet," she said.
However, early research indicates that diet changes are not enough to sustain the weight loss after six months or a year.
"In the long term, can we sustain long term weight loss on diet alone? There needs to be more research on that," she said.
Exercise can be the long-term play, according to Kovarik. Exercise can build lean muscle mass, which helps your body burn calories more efficiently.
There is some research showing that exercise can make us hungry, which for some people who don't deal with that hunger correctly. However, other research finds that exercise can be a positive influence on mental state.
"Typically, if we're feeling better it helps us to eat healthier," said Kovarik.
The bottom line is it is very difficult if not impossible to lose weight without making dietary changes, she said. And it may be equally difficult to maintain weight loss without adding in a component of exercise.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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