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Monday, January 29, 2007
Study Shows that Diet, Exercise…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I recently read an article about a study stating that diet and exercise are equal in regards to losing body fat (related article). According to researcher Dr. Eric Ravussin who is part of a research center at LSU, “it’s all about the calories.”
He basically concluded that you can lose the same amount of body fat just by decreasing calories at 25%, or increasing exercise at 12.5% calorie output and 12.5% calorie decrease (the input). Dr. Ravussin states, “so long as the energy deficit is the same, body weight, fat weight, and abdominal fat will decrease in the same way.”
The study also shows as “evidence” that an increase in muscle mass does not “boost” metabolism. Here is where you might say, “we’ll I guess exercise isn’t all that important.” This is one of the problems with a study such as this. Honestly, it is not so much the study. In fact, it’s the articles written about the study that can draw such conclusioins. For instance, I did additional research to see what the exercise portion of study was. Unfortunately, the participants did not perform the same exercise programs. As a matter of fact, there wasn’t that much structure involved at all. It was all about caloric output.
Moreover, when you research Dr. Ravussin’s intentions, he is searching to see if calorie restriction improves longevity. He is also known for his research in human genetics and metabolism as it relates to obesity and diabetes. In this particular study, his main interest was in regards to decreasing visceral fat (which is fat located within the abdominal organs).
Therefore, for what he was studying, the conclusions could be true. The only problem is, when it comes to human beings, we live much longer than laboratory rats or other animals that might be used to demonstrate similar results. To their own admission, researchers state the same thing.
The research also states that exercise is necessary for an overall healthy lifesyle. To help you understand, you can’t improve cardiovascular endurance through nutrition. Likewise, you can’t improve strength or muscle tone without weight bearing exercise.
I have been following and reading research articles on diet and exercise for over a decade. From reading articles in magazines, papers, or seeing reports on television, there is one thing I have learned, you can’t always believe what you read or hear. You must be objective in your own conclusions. If you really want to find the truth, you must do additional reseach and do research on the intentions of the research (I hope that made sense). Researchers are out to validate their own beliefs and agendas, whether it is for profit, to get that grant they’re after, or to simply validate their own position. To be fair, is is apparent thar Dr. Ravussin is noble and has done wonderful research for years.
What we do know through a myriad of others studies that have been done, is that you simply can’t go wrong with a combined effort of cardiovascular exercise, weight bearing exercise, and proper nutrition. So, don’t be quick to avoid the weights and jump on a treadmill just yet.
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