Dieting And Exercise Have The Same Effect On Body Fat Distribution

Whether you eat fewer calories or burn them off through exercise, the effect on body composition and fat distribution is the same.

Researchers found that dieting alone is as effective as a combination of diet and exercise at cutting weight and fat – as long as calories consumed and burned equal out.

Adding exercise to a weight-loss program doesn’t change body composition and abdominal fat distribution. That challenges the theory that specific exercises can reduce fat in certain areas. For example, some exercises are supposed to specifically target abdominal fat.

It’s all about the calories. So long as the energy deficit is the same, body weight, fat weight, and abdominal fat will all decrease in the same way.

The researches conduct a study. They divide people into three groups: One group went on a diet that reduced their caloric intake by 25 percent (550 to 900 fewer calories a day); the second group reduced their caloric intake by 12.5 percent and increased their physical activity to burn 12.5 percent more calories.

The people in the third group were put on a healthy diet designed to maintain their body weight.

After six months, the people in both the calorie-restricted and the calorie reduction/exercise groups had lost about 10 percent of their bodyweight, 24 percent of their fat mass, and 27 percent of their abdominal fat. However, their distribution of body fat remained the same.

The inability of the interventions to alter the distribution of fat suggests that individuals are genetically programmed for fat storage in a particular pattern and that this programming cannot easily be overcome.

While dieting alone can reduce weight, the researchers noted that exercise also improves aerobic fitness, which has many other health benefits.

For overall health, an appropriate program of diet and exercise is still the best.

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