American researchers confirm that physical activity alone does not condition weight loss. It is also necessary to restrict its diet.
You swallow miles on foot, swim every weekend and are a die-hard fan of the gym, but nothing helps your weight the same. Worse, the scale tells you that you have gained a few pounds? This is proof that physical activity is not the only key parameter to lose weight, assures a study published in Peer J.
Researchers at Loyola University (USA) came to this conclusion by following more than 800 men and 1,000 women aged 25 to 40 in the United States, Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica and Seychelles.
The vast majority of these participants were of African origin and presented a wide variety of socio-economic status. To collect the most objective information possible about their practice of physical activity, all the volunteers had to wear an accelerometer for a week.
The most active have gained weight
At the start of the experiment, Ghanaians had the lowest average weight (63 kg for men and women), while Americans weighed the heaviest (between 91 and 93 kg on average for women and men) . The former were also the most active with more than three-quarters of the participants fulfilling the recommendations (150 minutes of moderate intensity activity or at least 75 minutes of sustained intensity). Less than half of Americans and 20% of Americans could say the same.
But surprisingly, it’s not the most active who have lost the most weight. On the contrary, the study reports that two years after the experiment, the people who respected the recommendations for physical activity were the ones who gained the most.
The most active Americans gained about 250g per year while the less active lost as much over a year. “Our results indicate that physical activity does not protect us from weight gain,” concludes Laura Dugas of Loyola University School of Medicine.
Exercise and a balanced diet
This study seems to confirm the conclusions of previous work. Scientific literature suggests, in fact, that weight loss is not only conditioned by our physical activity. It actually depends mainly on what you eat and in what quantities.
So to lose weight, you must both regularly practice physical activity, but also restrict your energy intake. Note that sport will not make you lose weight on the scale since it promotes muscle formation. The results will, however, be visible on your figure.
In addition, it is important to emphasize that physical activity is not only to adopt when deciding to follow a diet. At any age in life, and even when we suffer from chronic pathologies, exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes but also cancer, while improving our mood and mental health. So many good reasons to get started.
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