study shows that muscular people don't burn calories any better/faster than fat people, etc.
excerpts from the article here.
Diet, Exercise Take Off Equal Pounds, Study Finds:
(confirmation of what you probably already know:) They found there is no way to selectively lose belly fat, for instance, or trim thighs. And their carefully controlled study added to evidence that adding muscle mass does not somehow boost metabolism and help dieters take off even more weight.
Ravussin said the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, is one of the few done under controlled conditions that can actually demonstrate what happens to a human body while dieting and exercising.
They tested 24 people, 12 who ate a calorie-restricted diet, and 12 who dieted and also exercised five times a week for six months.
The dieters ate 25 percent less than normal, while the exercisers reduced their calorie intake by 12.5 percent and increased their physical activity to lose an extra 12.5 percent in calories.
Another 10 volunteers acted as controls. All food was provided by the university in carefully measured portions for most of the study.
The volunteers in both groups lost about 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their fat mass, and 27 percent of their abdominal visceral fat. Visceral fat is packed in between the internal organs and is considered the most dangerous type of fat, linked with heart disease and diabetes.
The distribution of the fat on the body was not altered by either approach -- helping prove that there is no such thing as "spot reducing," Ravussin said in a telephone interview.
This suggests that "individuals are genetically programmed for fat storage in a particular pattern and that this programming cannot easily be overcome," he added.
Ravussin has published other studies that also dispute the idea that exercise builds muscle that helps people lose weight.
"If anything, highly trained people are highly efficient, so they burn fewer calories at rest," Ravussin said.
Dieting alone also did not appear to cause the volunteers to lose muscle mass along with fat, Ravussin's team found.
"There is a concept that if you exercise, you are going to lose less of your muscle," he said. But his team found no evidence this is true.
Ravussin believes exercise is crucial to health, however.
any thoughts/opinions?
x-posted to 'fitbody_fitmind' community.
Diet, Exercise Take Off Equal Pounds, Study Finds:
(confirmation of what you probably already know:) They found there is no way to selectively lose belly fat, for instance, or trim thighs. And their carefully controlled study added to evidence that adding muscle mass does not somehow boost metabolism and help dieters take off even more weight.
Ravussin said the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, is one of the few done under controlled conditions that can actually demonstrate what happens to a human body while dieting and exercising.
They tested 24 people, 12 who ate a calorie-restricted diet, and 12 who dieted and also exercised five times a week for six months.
The dieters ate 25 percent less than normal, while the exercisers reduced their calorie intake by 12.5 percent and increased their physical activity to lose an extra 12.5 percent in calories.
Another 10 volunteers acted as controls. All food was provided by the university in carefully measured portions for most of the study.
The volunteers in both groups lost about 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their fat mass, and 27 percent of their abdominal visceral fat. Visceral fat is packed in between the internal organs and is considered the most dangerous type of fat, linked with heart disease and diabetes.
The distribution of the fat on the body was not altered by either approach -- helping prove that there is no such thing as "spot reducing," Ravussin said in a telephone interview.
This suggests that "individuals are genetically programmed for fat storage in a particular pattern and that this programming cannot easily be overcome," he added.
Ravussin has published other studies that also dispute the idea that exercise builds muscle that helps people lose weight.
"If anything, highly trained people are highly efficient, so they burn fewer calories at rest," Ravussin said.
Dieting alone also did not appear to cause the volunteers to lose muscle mass along with fat, Ravussin's team found.
"There is a concept that if you exercise, you are going to lose less of your muscle," he said. But his team found no evidence this is true.
Ravussin believes exercise is crucial to health, however.
any thoughts/opinions?
x-posted to 'fitbody_fitmind' community.