Last week Time Magazine’s cover story, “The Myth About Exercise; Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin” produced quite an uproar throughout the fitness community.
Read “The Myth About Exercise” in Time Magazine.
Within 24 hours, two of the largest personal training certification agencies had emphatically responses!
Here is what the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) had to say:
Exercise and Weight Management
- There is strong evidence from the majority of the scientific literature that physical activity is an important component of an effective weight loss program.
- Physical activity is one of the most important behavioral factors in weight maintenance and improving long-term weight loss outcomes. In fact, participation in an exercise program has proven to be the very best predictor of maintaining weight that was lost.
- Effective weight loss and maintenance depend on a simple equation called energy balance: Calories expended through physical activity and normal lifestyle functions must exceed calories consumed.
It is a myth that exercise can actually prevent weight loss by leading exercisers to overeat. Research and common sense disprove this notion. Look around the gym or the jogging trail. If this were the case, wouldn’t those who regularly exercise be the fattest?
Other Benefits of Exercise
- Exercise and physical activity have been proven to help prevent chronic conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, anxiety, depression, obesity and diabetes.
- Studies show that when students are more active (through physical education, classroom activity, play, etc.) they improve test scores and attendance and experience fewer discipline problems and sick days.
Policy and economic implications
Physical activity and exercise are key components of workplace wellness programs, which have been shown to return $2.90 to $5.96 in cost savings for every dollar invested by the employer.
Participants in workplace wellness programs have reduced absenteeism, error rates and health care costs; they feel more alert, have better rapport with co-workers, and enjoy their work more.
Physical activity and exercise must play a vital role in health system reform. Cost savings from healthy lifestyles can help fund broader coverage for the under-served.
Physical activity needn’t involve expensive equipment, gym memberships or team athletics. Simple activities like walking, accumulated in 10-minute bouts, can have significant benefits.
Read the ACSM Exercise and Weight Management article
ACE (American Council on Exercise) responded to the time article with these points:
- First and foremost, the article categorically implies that exercise has no meaningful role in weight loss. Such a conclusion is as false as it is reckless. The author’s “evidence” is the fact that he has “gut fat that hangs over his belt when he sits,” despite maintaining a regular exercise habit. In all likelihood, his unwanted abdominal girth is probably a by-product of genetics and/or consuming more calories than he expends.
- Weight loss and maintenance are a matter of simple accounting that is dependent upon energy balance. In order for weight loss to occur, individuals must burn more calories than they consume. Regrettably, many individuals who regularly exercise are unable to meet their weight-loss goals because they eat too much. In reality, however, their “personal weight situation” and overall health profile would be far worse were it not for the extra calories they expend while exercising.
- An overwhelming body of scientific evidence exists that confirms the positive role that exercise plays in weight loss and maintenance (Hill and Wyatt, 2005; Jakicic and Gallagher, 2003; Jakicic et al., 2001). These findings refute the notion (advanced by the author) that exercise impairs weight-loss efforts by substantially and uncontrollably increasing appetite. Recent research suggests that appetite may be suppressed for 60-90 minutes following vigorous exercise by affecting the release of certain appetite hormones. It also appears that aerobic exercise is more effective at suppressing appetite than non-aerobic forms of exercise (Broom et al., 2009). In general, individuals who participate in moderate exercise tend to eat approximately the same number of calories (or only slightly more) than they would if they did not exercise. Elite-level athletes typically consume high volumes of food after their exercise workouts, but they almost always expend more calories than they consumed (Blundell and King, 1999). It is important to keep in mind, however, that appetite is influenced several factors and is a very complex process making it difficult to generalize the impact of exercise on appetite. The bottom-line is that exercise and diet go hand-in-hand with successful weight management.
- Surprisingly (and disappointingly) the author failed to mention the tremendously important role that exercise plays in the maintenance of weight loss. According to data from the renowned National Weight Control Registry, consistent exercise participation is the single best predictor of long-term weight maintenance. In others words, if individuals want to be successful in getting off the weight-loss rollercoaster (i.e., repeatedly losing weight and regaining it), they need to regularly engage in physical activity.
- Another particularly bothersome portion of the article was the misleading comments regarding children and physical activity. A preponderance of evidence shows that kids are often less active after school, not more active as the article implies. As such, community-based youth fitness programs and high-quality school physical education programs are much needed. The available statistics support the fact that well-designed fitness programs aimed at encouraging children to be more active and maintain a healthy body weight remain a significant priority (HHS, 2008).
Read the ACE response to Time Magazine’s article
What do you think of the article???
“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” ~Mark Twain
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