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Exercise is the key to keeping weight off

4 September 2009

The take home message is that losing weight and keeping the weight off is best achieved by a combination of decreasing the amount of calories eaten, but crucially by taking regular exercise to reset the body's baseline weight

Dr Karen Woo, associate medical director for Bupa

Regular exercise makes you less likely to regain weight you’ve lost through dieting, according to scientists in the US.

The research, published this week in the American Journal of Physiology, looked at how regular exercise affects the body and prevents weight regain after dieting. It’s thought that people who lose weight are at risk of putting weight back on because of changes in their body that make them more likely to overeat and store more fat. Regular exercise is thought to help reduce these changes and prevent weight gain.

The study was carried out on obese rats. First, the scientists put them on a low-fat and low-calorie diet until they’d lost a certain amount of weight. Then they separated them into an exercise group and a non-active group while continuing the weight loss diet. After a period of eight weeks, all the rats were allowed to eat as much of the low-fat food as they wanted, but the exercise rats carried on their exercise regime and the other group remained inactive.

The scientists found that the exercise rats gained less weight after stopping the diet compared to the non-active rats. The results showed that the exercise rats developed fewer fat cells (especially around their abdomen), were less likely to overeat, were better able to balance the calories they ate with the calories they burnt off, and their bodies changed the way they stored fat and carbohydrate. The exercise rats also developed a lower baseline body weight (the weight the body naturally strives to be).

Dr Karen Woo, associate medical director for Bupa, commented: “This study was conducted with rats and therefore caution should be taken when considering the effects in a human population.

“The take home message is that losing weight and keeping the weight off is best achieved by a combination of decreasing the amount of calories eaten, but crucially by taking regular exercise to reset the body’s baseline weight.

“If you’re decreasing the total amount of calories in your daily intake, make sure you maintain a nutritionally balanced diet. It’s not sensible to starve yourself. When considering a weight loss diet, speak to your doctor. He or she may be able to help you plan a suitable diet and exercise programme,” she added.

Key facts
  • The best way to achieve a healthy weight is to make long-term improvements to your diet and eating habits, while increasing the amount of physical activity you do.
  • You're more likely to keep the weight off for good if you lose weight slowly. This allows time for new healthier eating habits to become part of your everyday life.
  • The recommended rate of weight loss is 0.5 to 1kg (1 to 2 lbs) per week.
  • It's important that you're realistic about the amount of weight you wish to lose. Most people try to lose large amounts too quickly and then become disheartened when they don't reach their target goal.

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