Timesonline reports that new research stresses that exercise does NOT result in weight loss.
“Professor Boyd Swinburn, director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, says: “This is provocative in many ways . . . but my concern is that if we put the emphasis on exercise we are unlikely to tackle the obesity problem as we are not driving at the root cause.””
This is shocking as it attacks the entire culture that exercise is key to losing weight which has been accepted as fact since the 1980s aerobics boom. So why doesn’t exercise work? Two factors are key:
- We overestimate calories burned typically doubling the figure
- We eat more to reward ourselves for exercising
OK, guilty as charged. I’ve been known to enjoy an extra slice of cheese cake if I went to spin class. And I know that when my kids get home from their evening sports activities their first stop is the fridge. In fact, in “a review of 18 studies of new school exercise programmes, published in March in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that in none of them did increasing PE reduce the children’s weight.” So where does that leave the Daily Physical Activity requirement? (see the post Yoga and the DPA Requirement)
We are now forced to consider the other side of the “eat less, move more” equation. Yes, the four letter word, “diet.” A simple mathematical equation of “calories in = calories out” and you won’t gain weight. Put emphasis on either side and you have either weight gain or weight loss depending on how you mess with the balance. True, it sucks, as you actually have to watch what you eat, make healthy choices, and be aware of your consumption habits.
Its always been easier to simply enrol Junior in a sporting activity and allow free reign at the table. Therein lies our problem. Constant snacking, high fat/high sugar foods, easy access to fast food, excessive consumption of soda and juice, highly refined products, convenience over nutrition. All these are contributing to an epidemic which is killing our children.
In order to truly combat the childhood obesity we need to follow the Surgeon General’s three pronged attack to:
- Help kids stay active
- Encourage healthy eating habits
- Promote healthy choices
For ideas on how to implement these goals check out the suggestions for Schools & Teachers and Parents & Caregivers.
Its not a case of diet vs exercise but more a lifestyle shift which includes both diet AND exercise. Yes, this means hard work, consistency, and actually eating 5-10 serving of fruit & veg a day. For a multitude of suggestions on how to accomplish this visit Diet-Blog. When we finally figure this out we’ll be well on our way to healthier living for ourselves and our children.
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My Mother-in-Law has always contended that it is a “math” thing with maintaining or losing weight. Counting the calories.
And when I hear people, saying to pregnant ladies, “You are eating for two”, well it actually is typically only 300 – 500 more calories, not a whopping 1200 to 1500 extra calories! (No wonder I gained 40 lbs first pregnancy eh?)
gaileee
Great point – Diet AND Exercise, not Diet VS. Exercise. I like doing a kids yoga class with diet as the theme to tell kids about the 3 types of food – satvic, tamasic and rajasic. But acting out the way each makes you feel eg – for tamasic I’ll put my head in my hand and slouch.
Kids remember the body language a lot more than the names and they start to notice how they feel after they eat.
Love the idea of teaching diet through body language. Fantastic. Could you write a guest post on how you do that?
I find this so true. I was just talking to my son’s doctors about how he is active but it doesn’t seem to help him maintain a healthy weight. He has been struggling with being a bit overweight and I wanted to believe it was the steroidal medication that he is on for asthma. I’m sure it has a lot more to do with diet. We do not have a junk food house. As an athlete, I am very aware of nutrition and try to live my life and teach my family how to make good choices. My kids like most foods. It is so unfair, but I bet the picky eaters are at a healthier weight than the more adventurous eaters. We want our kids to have a broad diet but that can also mean a broad waist!
I completely understand about wanting your kids to be exposed to different flavors and to enjoy their food. We are the same – my last refuge was chicken curry but my oldest has now decided he likes that too. We have a rule “healthy choices first” so that an apple is eaten before a cookie or chips. This helps somewhat. But we have to be continually vigilant about stressing nutrition and developing healthy eating habits.
Great post, it’s something we all need to be reminded of in face of all of our busy schedules and how easy and CHEAP junk food is.
My oldest daughter has struggled with her weight her entire life (now 31) and food was always the reward in her early years. Fortunately, I learned my lesson and my other 3 kids don’t have that problem, but those early years are so important in ‘food training’! I think more info on easy ways to keep it healthy and active could be really helpful.
As a kids yoga instructor, I am so happy I stumbled across your blog.
I teach kids the yamas and niyamas, first and foremost.
When we learn about saucha, cleanliness, they really get into how to keep their bodies clean on the inside.
They love to learn a new language, sanskrit, a new skill set-yoga, and a new philosophy-saucha
This leads into eating and drinking healthy.
In light,
Dhana
http://www.Dhana.ca
Childhood obesity is such a problem for our youth. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. They are both equally important.
The only way you can manage obesity is throught Proper Diet and lots of exercise. The human body is designed for work so we should always get some form of physical exercise to stay fit.
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Obesity and diabetes are becoming more and more of a problem these days. Actually it is easy to avoid being overweight by just having the proper diet and exercise.