Exercise, alone, will not enable one to lose and maintain weight loss long term. In fact,
studies show that diet may be more important to weight loss than exercise. However, exercise should be an integral part of a weight-loss program, since it helps one maintain weight loss, long term. Indeed, exercise may improve one's ability to adhere to a diet by improving one's ability to restrain eating.
A study,
reported in Medscape, concluded that exercise improves cognitive restraint. Specifically, the researchers suggested that "men who added exercise to dieting had increases in cognitive restraint and decreases in hunger. They also lost more weight than those who dieted without exercise."
Therefore, exercise is important in a weight loss program. So employing interventions that motivate an overweight individual to exercise is essential. A recent study,
reported in ScienceDaily, showed that interventions directed at improving activities such as self monitoring and goal setting induce people to exercise, while interventions directed at providing knowledge and changing attitudes do not.
Studies lend support to the importance of exercise as part of a weight loss and weight management program. Studies also highlight the importance of choosing the right kind of interventions to get a person to exercise, since interventions that cause a person to engage in physical activity are the most productive. Intensive counseling is an intervention that has been shown to change behavior.
So weight loss providers should target exercise with their counseling. Because, with increased exercise, there is a good chance an overweight individual can restrain food intake, thus improve weight loss and weight maintenance.
Most weight loss professionals agree that diet and exercise are indeed important in weight loss and weight management. But now we are learning that exercise improves one's ability to stay on a diet. This bit of knowledge might help weight loss providers better guide their overweight and obese patients.
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