Maintaining a healthy weight is essential to the health of an individual. Being overweight can result in all kinds of health complications down the line. Losing weight is often done through a specific diet in addition to exercise. Unfortunately, keeping that weight off can be a real challenge. It’s why there’s been a regular debate as to what is more effective between diet versus exercise. However, a recent study revealed that the best way to maintain weight loss is not through one’s diet, but through regular exercise.

Study Focused on Diet Versus Exercise

People who lose weight often have a difficult time keeping it off for a long period of time. The study, which was conducted at the AHWC (Anschutz Health and Wealth Center) at the University of Colorado, was published in Obesity. The study found that physical activity helped people maintain weight loss much more effectively than chronically restricting their energy intake through a diet.

The study involved subjects who had maintained the loss of 30 pounds or more for more than a year. It revealed some of the following information about diet versus exercise:

• Weight loss maintainers burned more calories every day than those who had normal body weight controls.
• Weight loss maintainers burned more calories in physical activity than overweight/obese individuals or individuals who had normal body weight.
• Weight loss maintainers consumed a similar amount of calories every day compared to overweight/obese individuals.

The study was performed by measuring the total daily energy expenditure by collecting urine samples after providing subjects with water in which the hydrogen and the oxygen atoms are removed. An uncommon isotope of these elements is then added in their place. The resting metabolic rate of the subjects was also measured to figure out how much energy was used at rest compared to how much was used up as a result of physical activity.

Both Diet and Exercise Are Important

Maintaining a healthy diet is still important when it comes to maintaining one’s health; however, the recently published study revealed that exercise, in particular, will help keep off the weight a person has lost. For more weight loss related news, visit us at The Benefits Store today.