Some studies maintain that targeted physical exercises can reduce fat in specific areas of the body… Others refute this hypothesis. But, in any case, you have to play sports to lose weight and keep the line.
- The amount of calories an adult needs each day is between 2,400 and 2,600 calories for a man and 1,800 to 2,200 calories for a woman.
- By respecting these quantities, the weight remains stable.
Buttocks, thighs, belly… When you lose weight, you want to choose where! It is however difficult and this, even by doing targeted physical exercises. But why ? Why Doctor, thanks to the work of The Conversationgives you the keys to understand.
Do physical activity that targets the areas where you want to lose fat
First of all, to lose weight, the body must expend more calories than it consumes, either by ingesting fewer calories than necessary, or by doing more physical activity. But the way fat is stored by the body does not depend so much on our willpower but rather on our hormones. In men, in general, fat is stored more on the stomach while for women, it is more around the hips and buttocks…. It is therefore very difficult to control the area of the body where fat is stored.
However, some researchers believe that it may be possible to target where a person wants to lose fat. Indeed, according to a study published in 2021 in the journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, doing abs would reduce abdominal fat. Thus, according to their results, people who did it for twelve weeks had less abdominal fat compared to those who had done other types of exercises that strengthen the whole body.
A another study published in 2006 – and conducted on young active men – shows that fat is burned more when it is close to trained muscles. Thus, some researchers therefore believe that it is possible to reduce body fat in certain areas of the body by targeting the muscles nearby.
Exercising helps you lose fat
Conversely, some studies refute this hypothesis, estimating that training specific muscle groups would burn less fat – and therefore calories – than physical activity that would solicit the whole body. As a result, individuals who target them would lose less weight. Worse, a meta-analysis published in 2022 shows that localized strength training does not reduce fat in the targeted area more than other types of exercise. In other words, targeting an area would have no impact.
For the moment, therefore, there is no scientific consensus on targeted fat loss…. Still, to lose weight, exercising regularly is very important. L’World Health Organization recommends adults ages 18-64 get at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. The ideal is to alternate between so-called “cardio” sessions, which allow you to burn calories, and muscle strengthening activities, which increase muscle mass. And the more muscular the body, the more calories it burns at rest.
