you must eat less to lose weight
In 1980, 47 percent of Americans claimed they exercised regularly. By 2000, that figure had grown to 57 percent. Yet the number of overweight and obese people rose dramatically.
Physical activity is essential for good health, but it may not melt the pounds away on its own. Exercise researchers at Louisiana State University say when it comes to losing weight, how much you eat is more important than how much you exercise.
Building muscle makes you stronger, but a pound of muscle burns only four calories more per day than a pound of fat. If you somehow gained 10 pounds of muscle, you would only be able to eat an extra 40 calories a day.
Vigorous exercise can also stimulate hunger and could lead to a self-reward system. If you burn 300 calories at an exercise machine and reward yourself with donuts on the way home, you can easily consume more than you just burned.
Many researchers believe that frequent lower level activity works better for weight loss than bouts of vigorous exercise. They say it's better to be active in your life and throughout the day if you can. Take a walk — it doesn't have to be a fast one. Climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Dance to the music, hit a golf ball, do the laundry or play with the dog.
People only have a certain amount of energy to expend in a given day. For weight loss, it's better to be active each day instead of doing vigorous workouts only a couple of times a week.
A British study compared normally active children and those in sports with vigorous athletic training and found the two groups to be equally healthy.
At the end of the day, it's mostly about how many calories you take in — not the calories you burn off.
