Does Exercise Lead to Overeating?
Strange to think that those who exercise as a means of losing weight, may end up undoing some of their hard work by eating too much at mealtimes! According to new research, this is precisely the case for many exercisers.
Researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center followed 324 post menopausal women who were overweight, or obese. The women were prescribed various amounts of exercise and advised not to diet.
After six months they found that:
- Those who exercised on average 73 minutes a week lost about 3 pounds.
- Those who exercised on average 136 minutes a week lost a little over 4 pounds.
- Those who exercised 190 minutes a week lost about 3 pounds (they should have dropped around 6 pounds), some of the women admitted that they were eating more.
Timothy Church, director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center commented, “Some people think the exercise gives them carte blanche to eat what they want, it doesn’t take that many calories to overcompensate for the gains they made through exercise.”
What can we learn from this study?
I think the study proves the benefit of exercise as a means of weight loss, however the main message is a reminder that exercise and healthy eating go hand-in-hand. If you are following an exercise program, it’s important to eat healthy, balanced meals to avoid undoing all of your hard work with a few unwise meal or snack choices.
Make sure you don’t miss a single tip by subscribing to the RSS or the emailed updates of this blog!
Did you enjoy this article? Please be kind enough to share it -
You may also like to read the following:
Dec 4, 2007
Yeah, I find this issue very interesting. One of the biggest misconceptions for people losing weight is that regular exercise will lead to weight loss. Whilst it is important, weight loss is far more dependant on calories consumed. A bottle of coke has over 200 calories and yet a 20 minute jog will burn only around 200 calories.
Dec 7, 2007
Richard - thanks for your comment.
Yes, it’s an interesting one. I suppose there is also the other side of the coin, with people who believe that all they need to do is go on a diet, leaving exercise out of the equation, however they definitely go hand in hand.
Dec 7, 2007
Melanie, your absolutley spot on. Other than making you feel good by releasing endorphins, exercise also speeds up your metabolism meaning you will burn more calories during the day. Excerise is extremely important in keeping a fit and healthy body however it does not give you a license to eat anything and still lose weight. It is hard but for effecitive weight loss a large forcus needs to be on cutting out calorie rich foods.