One of my family’s favorite TV shows is “The Biggest Loser”. While some viewers dislike the fact that it forces people to work so hard to lose weight, the show may inspire some overweight people to take back control of their lives. But one of the most disappointing aspects of the show, at least in my opinion, is the overemphasis on exercise. Because far more important to achieving a healthy weight is the factor of what not to eat. Think of it this way: If an overweight person wants to achieve energy balance by burning an extra 1,000 calories, he can do so by exercising. However, exercise burns fewer calories than many people believe. 30 minutes of jogging or swimming will burn off 350 calories. Whether the body is obese or moderate, many people have trouble sticking to 30 minutes of heavy exercise a day. If they did that, they would probably exercise two or three times a week. But you can also lose as many calories by drinking 16 fewer ounces of carbonated beverages a day. The media is full of news that people need to exercise more. The importance of exercise for maintaining proper weight is further emphasized when people complain that the reduction of physical education classes in schools has exacerbated obesity. Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program focuses on exercise as a key component of the solution to overweight and obesity. Exercise has many benefits, but there are some problems with relying on it to control weight. First, Americans in general do heed the call to “exercise more. From 2001 to 2009, the percentage of people doing enough physical activity increased. But the percentage of the U.S. population that is obese has also increased. The former did not prevent the latter from happening. This finding was confirmed by a comprehensive analysis conducted in 2011, a study of multiple studies that examined the relationship between physical activity and fat mass in children. The analysis found that being physically active may not be a key factor in whether children are at an unhealthy weight level. In adults, intervention studies have also had difficulty confirming that people who are physically active are less likely to gain extra weight than those who are habitually sedentary. In addition, much research has been done on energy balance, and these studies show that total energy expenditure and physical activity levels are similar in developing and developed countries, so activity and exercise are unlikely to be responsible for differences in obesity rates. In addition, exercise can enhance one’s appetite. After all, when you burn calories through exercise, your body often signals you to replenish them. Research has confirmed this. 2012, researchers systematically aggregated studies on how people fulfill exercise programs. The probe found that, over time, people end up burning less energy than expected through exercise, while their caloric intake increases. In the long run, a number of other metabolic changes, too, can offset the weight loss effect produced by exercise. When weight loss occurs, metabolism often slows down as well. Many people assume that exercise can counteract or even reverse this trend. However, studies have shown that the resting metabolic rate slows significantly in all dieters, whether they exercise or not. Losing weight may seem easy at first, but it gets harder over time, and that’s exactly why. That’s not to say that exercise doesn’t work. Many studies have shown that the combination of exercise and dieting should be beneficial. a 1999 review cited three key combined analyses and a number of other randomized controlled trials. The studies found that the boost in weight loss from exercise was statistically significant, but still modest overall. A comprehensive analysis published last year found that in the long term, a behavioral weight management program that combines diet and exercise can lead to more sustained weight loss (three or four pounds) over a one-year period than dieting alone. However, adding exercise made no difference if the six-month period was used. Another review last fall came to a similar conclusion that exercise combined with dieting was more effective than dieting alone, although there was little difference. All of these interventions included dietary changes, where the additional weight loss from exercise was minimal. However, many people will manage to find an hour or more in their day to drive to the gym and then pick up, but complain that they have absolutely no time to cook or prepare a healthy home-cooked meal. If you spend half of your workout time trying to change your diet, you are likely to see much better results. Many people consider dieting to be an extreme, rigid move that carries a high risk of rebound. What is more likely to succeed is a gradual adjustment through a more permanent approach. I also don’t want people to think that dieting and losing weight is easy and exercising is hard. They are not easy. The challenges of a lower metabolism and the desire to eat more come into play, though changing your diet still works better than exercise. But I can’t say that dieting is enough: in addition to the weight loss effect it may have, exercise has a major health benefit. Many studies and reviews have detailed the effects of exercise in helping to alleviate musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung disease, neurological disorders and depression. Not long ago, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges called it a “panacea. Although I am usually reluctant to use this term in the medical field, there is considerable evidence that exercise improves many things. But this huge benefit doesn’t necessarily seem to apply to weight loss, and there’s simply no data to support it. But unfortunately, exercise seems to inspire us to participate more than eating less. After all, as a friend said to me a while back, “Super Diet King” would really be boring if it were just footage of contestants restraining their diets.