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January 13, 2010 – Eating better to lose weight is good. But combining his diet with an aerobic exercise routine would further improve the state of health (blood pressure, cholesterol levels, insulin sensitivity …). This is the conclusion drawn by a team of American and Australian researchers, who followed 36 people who were overweight for 6 months.
The participants were divided into 3 groups. In the first, the volunteers had to follow a diet, without going through an exercise routine. In the second group, the participants combined diet and aerobics: 50 minutes per day of walking, jogging or cycling, 5 days a week. In the third group, the volunteers did not follow any diet or exercise routine.
Members of the first 2 groups lost an average of 10% of their body mass during the study. However, only those individuals who exercised significantly improved their health. Their risks of suffering from cardiovascular disease (measured by bad cholesterol and blood pressure) or diabetes (insulin sensitivity) have melted with their waistlines.
“We have to be careful,” warns Denis Joanisse, professor of kinesiology at Laval University and researcher associated with the Merck Frosst / CIHR Research Chair in obesity. “We cannot conclude that healthy eating has no effect on health. The effects may have been too subtle to stand out in the study. What is certain is that physical activity increases the effects tenfold. “
Researchers did not assess the effect of exercise alone without diet. Denis Joanisse believes that health benefits would certainly have been detected. “The ideal, however, is always to combine the 2 approaches. Note: Only aerobic exercise has been proven to improve metabolic health. Strength training doesn’t seem to have the same effect.
Dominique Forget – PasseportSanté.net
1. Larson-Meyer E, Redman L et al, Caloric restriction with or without exercise: the fitness versus fatness debate, Medicine & science in sports & exercise, 42 (1): 152-159, January 2010. For more details: http://journals.lww.com [Consulté le 13 janvier 2010].