I am sure there were many groans when the news of this study came out. The bad news was that 60 minutes of exercise is needed to prevent weight gain as they get older. The good news is that exercise effects are wide reaching and benefit many areas of health other than body weight. Also, weight gain is not inevitable in aging. The bad news was even more time is needed to get those exercise effects. As if most women don’t have enough on their to do list (me included)!
Exercise effects
I would like to point out two important considerations with this study about exercise effects.
1. This was for moderate exercise (walking). If you step up the intensity (i.e. running instead of walking) only 30 minutes are needed. Exercise effects on weight control are experienced with a shorter amount of time too, if you do it faster.
2. Also, this was found for women on a “normal” American diet. Unfortunately for Americans, “normal” is not a good thing. This diet is typically higher in fat, calories, animal foods and processed foods. The weight control exercise effects will not help you if you drink many of your calories in the form of sugary drinks, load up on fried foods, high fat dairy or meats, or get a hefty dose of refined flours everyday.
However, what if you have an abnormal diet? Abnormal by American standards anyway? You know, a diet with a good amount of fruits and vegetables in it? Will you experience greater exercise effects over your waistline as you age? Research shows that to be true. Bottom line, there are two important factors to prevent adult weight gain:
- diet
- exercise
Do exercise effects have a greater influence than diet over body weight in aging? Should it be prioritized over diet? If you don’t have 60 minutes is all hope lost? Not necessarily. You have more options than just one.
