Time Magazine’s intriguing cover piece “Why exercise won’t make you thin” by
John Cloud is still one of the top 10 most read stories on its Web site, in part
because we’re desperate for a magic bullet.
For years, food manufacturers have been telling us not to blame cheap and
processed food for the obesity crisis. Instead, we all just need to move more
and to get recess back into the schools.
Now here comes Cloud, insisting that it might be better to sit in a chair and
knit because exercise can make you hungry. Since most of us burn far fewer
calories than we think during a workout, a postexercise treat could negate the
whole workout. Another problem according to Cloud: Exercise is so boring and
painful that we reward ourselves with fattening food when we’re done.
The basis for much of the article was this recent study published in Public
Library of Science in which three groups of obese women exercised at three
different intensity levels. The findings showed that the women who exercised did
not lose significantly more weight than the control subjects did.
But as Mark Grabiner, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition
at the University of Illinois at Chicago, pointed out, the article failed to
mention the study participants were postmenopausal women, not the 20-something
pictured on the cover. As we age, changes in the body make it harder to lose
weight.
“The key message that exercise is not a pathway to weight loss? Ridiculous,”
said Grabiner, the director of the university’s Clinical Biomechanics and
Rehabilitation Laboratory.
The article also overlooks that there are two main types of exercisers in the
world: Those who have found the type of workouts they love and those who
haven’t.
Surprise your body by changing things up. Redefine “exercise” as any movement
you get during the day—then seek out new ways to get more of it.
