Overeating or Under-exercising?

How many people do you know who are on a diet?  All of us have relatives or friends that are always bragging about the latest diet they are trying.  Juicing is now in.  I have many relatives that are buying their juicers and lots of fruits and vegetables.   At least this diet craze packs a nutrition punch rather than taking foods and nutrients out of one’s diet as many fad diets do.  But rarely do we hear, “I need to lose weight so I am pumping up my exercise.”  I like my desserts and I like to eat so rather than diet I try to hit the gym, walk, bicycle and up my exercise.  This method seems to be supported by the latest research which indicates many overweight people aren’t overeating but under-exercising. 

Stanford University researchers noted the strong correlation between the rise in obesity to the significant drop in time spent exercising.  They didn’t find Americans are eating more but they did find many of us are exercising less.  Researchers noted from 1988 to 2010, Americans who did no exercise at all went from 19% to 52% for women and for men, from 11% to 43%.  No exercise at all in their free time.  WOW! 

In my nutrition classes, I always emphasize cutting some calories to lose weight but just as important, increase the exercise.  If one wants to lose a pound a week, which works out to cutting back on 500 calories a day.  I would be very hungry if I had to cut out 500 calories a day.  But one can increase their exercise and burn up 250 to 300 calories a day, and then cutting back on food by 250 to 200 calories a day isn’t quite so hard. 

The lead researcher, Dr. Uri Ladabaum, stated, “Even though it is very difficult to prove directly that public health interventions promoting physical activity will make a difference, I think they will," he said. "This study should serve as a reinforcement of the message that we need to think of a multi-component solution where diet is a big part of it, and physical activity is a big part as well."  Overeating vs Exercise

Sources: Overeating vs Exercise   Image source:  Exercise

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