Weight Loss or Not, Exercise Yields Benefits

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Weight Loss or Not, Exercise Yields Benefits

 A recent study underscores that there are significant health benefits to overweight and obese people being physically active, even if they don’t lose a pound. The study, of 334,000 Europeans over 12 years, recorded twice as many deaths due to a lack of physical activity as due to obesity.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, backs up earlier research about the value of exercise in improving health. It found that as little as a brisk, daily 20-minute walk can extend life expectancy.

Some doctors say the diet industry and popular culture overemphasize weight loss and underemphasize the benefits of exercise for people of any size. Health clubs and fitness studios advertise with images of lean bodies. Many people stop exercising if they’re not losing weight.

Recently, images on Twitter and Instagram of women of all shapes doing yoga have surged, alongside hashtags such as #sizedoesntmatter. Online discussions abound about the best shoes for heavier runners. Plus-size model Ashley Graham will be featured in an ad for retailer swimsuitsforall in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue this month. She also stars in a new series of online workouts called Curvy Fit Club.

Greg Degnan is medical director at ACAC, a chain of fitness and wellness centers in Virginia and Pennsylvania that include medical guidance. Dr. Degnan says that obesity carries inherent risks for conditions like heart disease, hypertension and type-2 diabetes. Lowering weight can be crucial in prevention.

But, he says, “We have for way too long focused on diets.” Exercise can improve blood pressure, lower cholesterol and improve circulation in overweight people. It’s also more palatable for most people than slashing calorie intake, he says.

Although the rate of obesity has leveled off in the U.S., nearly 69% of American adults are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Generally, people are deemed to be obese if they have a body-mass index of 30 or higher, and overweight if their BMI is between 25 and 29.9. Body-mass index is a ratio of height and weight.

Some in the medical community criticize the BMI as a measurement of individual health. They say it fails to distinguish different types of body mass.

Louise Green holds boot camps and adventure excursions for plus-size women in Vancouver, British Columbia. Many of her clients focus on getting regular physical activity and are no longer on commercial diets. They hike mountains, snowshoe and are “super fit,” Ms. Green says.

 Most people who go on diets fail to sustain weight loss, a UCLA study found. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to make realistic, long-term changes in diet and exercise regularly, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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