Why Sports practically do not help to lose weight

Fitness instructors repeat what we hear for years: to atone for the sin of gluttony can be on the treadmill. And that message is carried by fitness guru, the stars, the companies for the production of food and beverages, officials from the health and doctors.

Thanks to the confidence that the sport will lose weight successfully sold subscriptions to gyms, fitness trackers, sports drinks and video training.

But here's the rub: this confidence is based on false representations and misleading in our fight against obesity.

As our body burns calories: is there a difference between an office worker and a resident wild tribe

Anthropologist Ponttser Herman (Herman Pontzer) from Hunter College in New York, traveled to Tanzania to study the Hadza tribe - one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer tribes. He expected to see in these people the machine for burning calories, because in their lifetime physical activity is much greater than that of Westerners.

Most of the time the men of the tribe Hadza spend chasing and killing of animals, as well as climbing trees in search of honey of wild bees. Women gather roots and berries.

By studying the Hadza way of life, Ponttser was sure to find proof of the generally accepted opinion: Obesity has become a worldwide problem because of the strong decline in physical activity. Ponttser was convinced that the Hadza burn far more calories per day than the average Westerner.

In 2009 and 2010, the researchers traveled to savannah, punctuated his jeep computers, liquid nitrogen to freeze the urine samples, and respirometer for measuring energy consumption residents Tribe.

Scientists recorded physical activity and the amount of energy expended in 13 men and 17 women aged from 18 to 75 years, Using tracer method - the most famous way to measure the amount of carbon dioxide that we allocate, spending energy.

results were striking: the energy consumption of the representatives of the Hadza was no more than the Europeans or Americans. Hunters and gatherers were more physically active and lean, but the day of burning as many calories as the average resident spends West.

Ponttsera investigation was superficial and unfinished: it was attended by a total of 30 people from a small community. But it raised a nagging question: why the Hadza, who are constantly on the move, spending the same amount of energy as lazy Europeans?

Energy (calories) is consumed not only in movement but also on life support. Researchers have long been aware of this, but did not consider this fact is significant in the context of the global epidemic of obesity.

Ponttser suggested that the Hadza spend the same amount of energy, because their bodies save it on other tasks. Or maybe Hadza longer rest after physical labor, thus reducing the total energy consumption.

Science has developed in this direction, and there lie serious consequences for our understanding of how strongly associated energy consumption and the degree to which we can influence it by exercises.

Hadza spend as much energy, but they do not become obese as Westerners. They do not overeat, and therefore do not get fat.

Herman Ponttser

This fundamental concept - part of a growing pool of evidence to explain the phenomenon, which scientists observed for many years: it is very difficult to lose weight, just by increasing the number of physical exercises.

Physical activity is excellent heals

Before you begin to understand why exercise does not help to lose weight, let's make something clear: no matter how exercises affect the amount of your waist, it revitalizes the body and mind.

Community independent researchers Cochrane prepared review of available studiesDemonstrating that, while physical activity has led to only modest weight loss, the subjects who were engaged more, even without changing the diet, health marked improvement, including lowering blood pressure and blood triglycerides. Exercise reduces the risk of developing type II diabetes, stroke and heart attack.

A number of other studies It showed that the people involved in sports, reduced the risk of developing cognitive impairment from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. They also get a higher evaluation tests intellectual. If you've lost weight, exercise in conjunction with control of calorie intake can help maintain it at this level.

Does not backed by virtually useless exercise for weight loss

So, the benefits of physical activity is obvious and real. But despite the many stories about the kilos lost on a treadmill, evidence suggests something else.

IN studyPublished by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in 2001, it said that the short-term experiment, which lasted about 20 weeks, were observed weight loss, but for long-term experiments (over 26 weeks) was not observed the relationship between the amount of energy burnt during exercise, and weight loss.

We have been living with the idea that the process of losing weight is simple: eat calories - calories spent. In an oft-quoted study, 1958 Vishnofski scientist Max (Max Wishnofsky) set out a rule that is still used by many clinics and magazines to predict weight loss: a pound of human fat - about 3500 kcal. That is, if you spend 500 calories per day through diet and physical activity, the result will lose about a pound of weight per week. If you add 500 calories a day - dial up a pound.

Now researchers believe this rule is too simple and talk about the human energy balance as a dynamic and adaptive system. When you change it something like trim the daily amount of calories, adding physical activity, it triggers a cascade of changes in the body that influence how many calories you use, and as a result - on weight body.

Professor David Allison (David Allison) from the University of Alabama, said that limiting calorie intake works more effective than increased physical activity, and cut the number of calories in combination with exercise works more it's better.

Exercise helps to burn off only a fraction of the calories

Very underestimated the fact that the exercise burned only a tiny part of your total energy consumption.

In reality, exercise burn is about 10-30% of total energy consumption, depending on the individual. Exception - professional athletes, for whom training - is work.

Alexan Kravitz (Alexxai Kravitz)

Three main areas of energy consumption

• The basic metabolic rate - the energy used for the functioning of the body, even when it is at rest.
• Energy used for digestion of food.
• The energy expended in physical activity.

We can not control the basic metabolic rate, which is the most significant energy consumption.

It is believed that most people have the basic metabolic rate is 60-80% of total energy consumption.

Alexan Kravitz

Digestion of food takes 10% of total energy consumption. The remaining 10-30% is spent on physical activity, where the exercise - only part of it.

That is why it is not surprising that exercise leads to a statistically significant, but small changes in weight.

It is difficult to create a significant shortage of calories through sports

using "body weight Planner", Which gives a more realistic assessment of weight loss, than the old" rule 3500 kcal ", a mathematician and researcher Obesity Kevin Hall (Kevin Hall) has created a model showing that regular exercise is unlikely to lead to significant weight loss.

If a man weighing 90 kg will be run at moderate intensity for one hour four times a week, using the usual amount of calories, then after 30 days it will lose a little more than 2 kg. And if he will have more or more rest to recover after running, it will lose even less.

So that people who are overweight and obese, trying to throw tens of kilograms, it will take an incredible amount of time, willpower and effort to do this only with the help of exercises.

Physical activity can slow down the weight loss process of nonobvious ways

How much we move, due to the fact how much we eat. Undoubtedly, after exercise we feel hunger so strong that we can eat more calories than you just burned.

Many people eat more after exercise, either because they consider that burned a lot of calories, or because they simply are very hungry. We also tend to overestimate the number of calories expended during exercise.

You can undo the result of hard-fought hour workout in just five minutes a snack afterwards. One slice of pizza, Caffè Mocha cup or ice cream - it's an hour of exercise.

there is also a evidenceThat some people are "slow down" after a workout, consuming less energy on other activities: can lie down, climb the stairs instead of the elevator or just sit longer. These changes are called compensatory behavior and relate to the adjustments that we make unconsciously, in order to balance the number of calories burned.

Exercise can cause physiological changes to save energy

Here is another intriguing theory related to how our body regulates energy after physical activity. Researchers have discovered a phenomenon called metabolic compensation when a person spends a lot of energy on physical activity and losing weight, its basic metabolic rate decreases.

Your efforts cause physiological changes - compensatory mechanisms, which vary depending on the level of physical activity.

Lara Dugas (Lara Dugas)

Our body all the forces opposed to our efforts to lose weight. It documented the effect, though not necessarily for everyone.

IN fascinating studyPublished in the journal Obesity Research in 1994, guinea made 7 pairs of young twins, leading a sedentary lifestyle. During the 93 days they have almost every day intensively engaged on an exercise bike for 2 hours.

During the study, the twins lived in the hospital where they are being watched around the clock, and nutritionists vigilant counted calories cannabis users to be assured that their number remains constant.

Despite the transition from a sedentary lifestyle to daily physical exercise, average weight loss of participants in the study was 5 kg: someone has lost 1 kg, someone - to 8 kg. The subjects burned 22% less calories than you should have been on the assumptions of the researchers before the project starts.

The researchers explained this by the fact that the basic subjects decreased metabolic rate and they spend less energy during the day.

Lara Dugas called this effect "part of a survival mechanism." The body can store energy after exercise to keep stored fat for future energy costs. But the researchers do not yet know why this happens and how long the effect lasts in humans.

We can say with certainty that in some circumstances there is a metabolic adaptation, compensatory mechanisms are triggered. But we do not know the extent to which compensation is manifested in what conditions and who.

David Ellison

Energy consumption is limited

Another hypothesis to explain why it is difficult to lose weight only by means of exercises, is that the power consumption reaches its limit. This provides evidence Ponttser with colleagues in a paper published in 2016 in the journal Current Biology.

For the study, researchers recruited 332 adults from Ghana, South Africa, America, with the Seychelles and Jamaica. Watching participants within 8 days, the researchers collected data on physical activity and burn energy by using accelerometers. They divided the subjects into three groups: sedentary, moderately active (do sports 2-3 times a week), superactive (doing almost every day). It is important to note that people were already a way of life at baseline, rather than specifically started to play sports.

The difference in the consumption of calories in groups with different physical activity was only 7-9%. Moderately active people were burned every day by an average of 200 calories more than those who led a sedentary lifestyle. However, higher energy consumption does not lead to progress.

Adjusted for the volume and structure of the body the total energy consumption is positively correlated with physical activity, but this relationship was much stronger at the lower boundary of the range of physical activity.

Herman Ponttser

Having reached a certain level of physical activity, you stop burning calories at the same rate: the total energy consumption of the schedule will be a plateau. This view of the power consumption is different from the usual understanding of: what you're active, the more calories you burn per day.

Based on his research Ponttser proposed a model of the limited energy consumption: it shows that the effect is more physical activity is not linear to the human body. According to evolutionary theory, when the power sources were unreliable, the body sets a limit for the energy flow, independent of the amount of physical activity.

The idea is that the body is trying to keep the specific energy consumption level, regardless of how you have been active.

Herman Ponttser

At the moment this hypothesis - an interesting option explain why going to the gym as the sole means for weight loss do not work.

The government and the food industry produce unscientific advice

Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity has doubled, and, according to the World Health Organization, 13% of the world population are obese. In the US, about 70% of people suffer from overweight or obesity.

As an equally important cause of this problem called lack of exercise and too much high-calorie food. With this argument, researchers articlePublished in the "British Medical Journal", saying: "You can not get away from a bad diet."

Unfortunately, we are losing the battle with excess weight, because what we eat more than ever. But the myth of the sport still regularly supported by food and beverage manufacturers who may be out of favor due to the sale of products harmful to health.

Coca-Cola Company from 1920 promotes physical activity: "Physical activity is vital to the health and welfare of consumers." A recent New York Times announced that Coca-Cola is sponsoring research in the field of struggle against excess weight, the purpose of which - to prove that the cause of the obesity epidemic is the lack of physical activity.

PepsiCo and other companies are also trying to encourage us to engage in more exercise, while continuing to use their products.

But it is inadequate and potentially dangerous approach because it encourages people to ignore or underestimate the impact of calories consumed. Sport is good for health. But if you're trying to lose weight, the biggest problem - it is the food.

So what to do to lose weight?

In a study from the National Weight Control Registry studied and parsed characteristics, habits and behavior of adults who have lost at least 13 kg and supports the new weight of at least one year. Currently, the study involved 10,000 people who annually fill out the questionnaire, telling how they manage to keep a healthy weight.

The researchers found the participants of the experiment common habit: they weighed at least once a week, limit the intake of calories and too fatty foods, watch portion sizes and regularly engaged sports.

But note: the physical activity is used as an adjunct to enter Calculate calories and other behavioral changes. Any reliable expert in the field of weight loss say, the best thing you can do to lose weight, - limit the number of calories and focus on a more healthy diet.

In general, a diet combined with exercise is more useful for the general well-being than one calorie reduction, but can only significantly affect weight loss. The graph below shows that a group of people that restricted caloric intake, losing weight is almost the same speed as the band which is added a diet and physical activity.

And if you opt for a second option - diet + sport - be careful when counting calories and do not compensate expended during exercise additional energy food portions.