Canadian researchers have found that exercising without dieting can be as effective for modest weight loss as dieting without exercising.
Scientists from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario studied 52 men with abdominal obesity for three months. The men where divided into four different groups: weight loss by dieting; exercise intended to produce weight loss; exercise designed not to produce weight loss; or no special diet or exercise (the control group).
Although the study reaffirms that diet restriction is effective for reducing total and abdominal obesity, it also demonstrate that 12 weeks of approximately 60 minutes of daily exercise without dieting is associated with substantial reductions in body weight. On average, men in both the diet and the exercise-weight loss programs lost about 16 pounds. The weight of the men in the other two groups did not change.
The take home message: if you don't exercise now, get started! Begin your exercise program gradually and make your first goal consistency. Then work on increasing the exercise intensity as you get into better shape.
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