Exercise Is Not The Answer For Weight Loss, Study Finds

Exercise and diet are the obvious, well-known and surefire ways to lose weight, as everyone knows. But perhaps everyone is wrong.

A growing body of research, including a new study publicized over the weekend, finds that while exercise has many impressive health benefits, weight loss is not generally one of them.

The new data comes from a Loyola University of Chicago study, which examined nearly 2,000 people across five countries. Participants' weight and exercise levels were monitored over three years, using weigh-ins and wearable activity monitors.

They came from the United States, Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica and Seychelles and were mostly of African descent.

"Our study results indicate that physical activity may not protect you from gaining weight," said lead author Lara Dugas, an assistant professor of public health at the university.

In fact, the subjects who showed higher rates of physical activity actually gained slightly more weight than those with lower rates.

"For example, American men who met the guidelines gained a half pound per year, while American men who did not meet the guideline lost 0.6 pounds," the study's press release notes.

"Researchers did not find any significant relationships between sedentary time at the initial visit and subsequent weight gain or weight loss," it continues. "The only factors that were significantly associated with weight gain were weight at the initial visit, age and gender."

However, the researchers note that there are still many proven benefits to physical activity, including reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Exercise can even improve your mood.

We know exercise also burns calories, which is why it's so widely believed that exercising can help you lose weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, the theory goes, your body will burn excess body fat as a source of energy, reducing your weight.

But the researchers point out that this does not necessarily take into account the behavioral effects of exercise. Working out often makes people hungrier, which means they compensate by consuming more calories. Many other studies have confirmed this effect.

Moreover, the vast majority of our calories burned is determined by out steady metabolic rate, which is difficult to affect. Calories burned by exercise, even when you're quite active, make up a small percentage of your daily total.

Of course, some people may lose weight when they start exercising, just as different, even opposing, diets work for some people and not others.

Vox summed up a large bulk of the research on this topic in a helpful video:

Photo credit: Kyle Cassidy