Exercise: It's an hour a day, people. Seriously.

That 30 minutes of daily exercise you think you’re supposed to do to keep weight off? You need to step it up, people. As much as twice that amount may be needed to lose weight and keep it off.

A recent study found that overweight and obese women needed to exercise about an hour a day, five days a week to sustain weight loss. The findings bolster what some health experts — and those who have lost weight and kept it off — have been saying for years: copious amounts of exercise and adherence to a strict diet are necessary to take off the pounds and keep them at bay.

The women who exercised more and stuck to their diets kept off a 10% weight loss over two years, compared with others who maintained only 5%. The report, which appeared in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, studied 201 women during an intervention that spanned from 1999 to 2003. All the women were asked to consume 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, and they were assigned to one of four groups: one that burned 1,000 calories a week, one that burned 2,000 calories a week, one that exercised moderately and one that exercised vigorously. Participants also attended group meetings where they learned how to change their diet and activity and received follow-up calls via telephone.

Six months later, all four groups had lost an average of 8% to 10% of their body weight. But it didn’t last. After two years, the average weight of all participants was only 5% lower than their initial weight, and there was no difference among the groups.

But some did better than average. About a quarter of the women who managed to sustain a 10% weight loss exercised more, adhered to better eating habits and engaged more often by phone with the intervention team. For them, exercise amounted to an average of expending 1,835 calories a week, or 275 minutes per week.

"This clarifies the amount of physical activity that should be targeted for achieving and sustaining this magnitude of weight loss, but also demonstrates the difficulty of sustaining this level of physical activity," wrote the authors (headed up by John Jakicic, director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh), who also recommended further research to discover how to continue to motivate people to exercise.

-- Jeannine Stein

Photo credit: Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[eric]

LOOK! The difference is that most fat people eat more than thin people (they will argue this till they are blue in the face but its true) I'm so sick of hearing fat people tell me “I don't eat much” & I see them eating 3 times more salad or whatever than me.

“Look” the first rule of loosing weight is to shrink your stomach. I do it all the time by allowing myself to starve a little. it's painful but once you do it you will be forced to eat less. Think of it as a natural stomach reduction technique as opposed to surgery. “It works” but it’s not going to work if you do it and the very next weak you push the boundaries of your stomach again.

the bottom line is most fat people need to eat lest and exercise to tighten up their skin. stop being crybabies and just do it GAWD!

[Jim O'Hara]

You can shorten the workout time if you up the intensity. But high intensity exercise is uncomfortable, so people would rather workout longer at a lower intensity. However if you don't have the hour, up the intensity.

[J]

To the post from Eric:
Not all fat people eat more than thin people do - in fact, often people are overweight because they are nutritionally deprived, and are not getting enough wholesome food. The body's natural reaction is to slow down and decrease the rate at which it burns calories compared to normal.
When I weighed 350 lbs, I was eating about 1800 calories a day, and never exercised. Once I brought my calories up to about 2200 (of real food) and walked and biked 2 or more hours a day, I was able to lose weight and get down to 150 lbs. It took 6 years, but I did it. Now I am able to maintain my weight and eat far more than I was able to when I was fat.

It's NOT all calories in, calories out. It's far more complicated than that.

The body is not a bomb calorimeter.

[The Frederal]

This is, to be frank, complete nonsense. You do not need AN HOUR of excercise a day to lose weight. In fact, you can do it on significantly less. An HOUR of exercise a day will throw your body into constant retention. Now, i am a man (so maybe this is it) but i lost 110 lbs in about a year by simply not eating things that w e r e bad for me, and lifting moderate to heavy weights (always changing reps, sets, etc). Bottom line: i eat twice as much now as i ever did and im down 8 pants sizes. Its not about how much you take in but more how much you burn, body composition, etc... simply working out for an hour a day won't do a damn thing for you. Problem is most girls d o n t lift heavy weights (come on.. you KNOW you dont) because they are told they will bulk. You won't, trust me. You CANT. So if you want to lose ass loads (literally) get a man to show you how to work out. I am not being derogatory, but i am trying to help and i have seen it work... I know three woman who did this and they haven't gained a pound back. Skinny girls who are alreadys kinny cant show you how to lose that weight. They eat normal (Not restrictive) and work out MAYBE 3 times a week, an hour and change if that.
Seriosuly, go get a man to show you a real workout and get off the treadmill (it doesnt do a thing). Plus if your lifting moderate weight target heartrate = phooey (as you will always be burning from the lifting of weight).

[iH8uAll]

The other problem is the calorie count, not just the exercise. If you look at the types of ingredients in food like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) or other engineered sweeteners or "preservatives" the number of health problems on the rise Along With weight issues is staggaring. Diabetes: on the rise. Obesity: on the rise. Even mental health issues related to diet are said to be on the rise, especially in children.

We have to -as a society- focus on what goes into our bodies, not just what we sweat out.

The other problem is making the time. I think now most of us are trying to figure out how much more we will have to work to make ends meet, find time for the kids and basically just "keep up", let alone find the time to squeeze in a good work out. Not to mention when air quality in Los Angeles is a concern (especially for us walkers).

[Brandon]

OH MY GOD! will you people LISTEN to yourselves!!!! you're complaining about having to exercise a WHOLE ONE HOUR a day! i mean, c'mon!

i'm sorry, but with the incessant laziness of the people of this country (as evidenced by the comments left here) there is no wonder why there are so many fat people hobbling around.

[Brad]

Can you say HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! There is a good reason why our obesity rate is climbing faster than other industialized nations and it's because we're the only one eating this poison.

[Tom]

I was born with a great body...turning 41 August 1st and I am healthier that most 21 year old's...ok, just kidding! - but i am turning 41

[Newt]

Yep, this jibes with what I encounter. The only really practical way I've found to do it is daily commuting via bike, or a dedicated exercise hour in the evenings...or a pair of 4 hour "Bataan Death March" workouts on Sat & Sunday.

Eating less only shuts your metabolism down as your body prepares for famine. Dieting is, bluntly, stupid and miserable, nor do you look all that great even if you do manage to starve yourself down to a skeleton with no muscle.

[Bill Lawrence]

Of course, this is all a bunch of garbage. Certainly you don't believe that everyone of normal weight exercises an hour a day. The FACT is that it is a combination of eating the RIGHT things at the RIGHT times and doing the RIGHT type of exercise that keeps the weight off. There is no simplistic answer. Such hyped up articles like this are misleading.

[Skinny guy]

It's called the laws of thermodynamics people. You do not have a "thyroid problem" and you can't hold out hope that the medical industry will miraculously make a pill that will get you thin. You need to watch what you eat and you need to burn off the calories you don't use. You want to know what I eat everyday? Coffee and energy bar for breakfast, PB&J sandwich with a yogurt for lunch, and a light dinner, usually chicken/meat and vegetable or pasta. It's not hard, I have learned hunger pains have about as much merit as a screaming 2 year old, and exercise can be fun.

[Derek Todorojo]

The excuse "I haven't got the time" is absurd. Have you got a television in your home?

I'm 6'4" tall and have a terribly scarred and mangled left knee. I've been hovering between 225 and 240 for years now. Last January, we spent our holiday funds on a treadmill. A darn good treadmill. The sort you can't just fold up and tuck under a bed for that out-of-sight, out-of-mind convenience of avoiding exercise. I started out with 15 minutes of light jogging every other day. I stuck with it. I discovered that the further I went, the less interested I was in ruining my progress with another pint of Haagen Dazs Sticky Toffee ice cream.

I've always been a comfort eater. I ate to feel somehow fulfilled. The reason I didn't exercise and most people, obese or not, don't exercise isn't due to time constraints, but flat-out laziness.

To everyone who claims that they haven't got the time to exercise, you just keep telling yourself that and let the self-loathing continue to build. Do yourself a favor and admit to yourself what I did; That I was unmotivated and lazy and that it is much easier type out excuses into the comments section of an L.A. Times article than it is to accept the lack of motivation and mental toughness to shut off the television, much less make a life-changing decision to exercise.

I ran 8.1 miles today in 1:28:36. I ran 9.6 yesterday in 1:47:36 and I plan on waking up early tomorrow to pull on my running shoes and do it again. The ugly truth is that the only thing standing between one's self and a healthy body is self discipline and mental toughness.

[Yikes]

So many comments view exercising as a cruel chore, why is that? Is it more fun to watch tv wolfing down cheetos and listen to your arteries hardening than to experience the rejuvenating rush of a good workout? I've indulged both styles to their fullest, and exercise is waaaay more satisfying. Ignore the lazy impulse for the 30 seconds it takes to walk outside, then enjoy the sensation of actually doing stuff!

It's your body, now use it or lose it, hee hee!

[andrew]

One hour a day is not too bad. No matter what ,its hard to lose weight once you pass around 27 years old. Just get on some kind of daily program of walking or jogging and weights and keep to it. Being moderate in all things will help. Dont be scared to push hard in the jogging or what ever you do. The old lie about " just go longer and slow and you burn fat" is 100% false. Anyway, if you go slow for only one hour you wont even begin to tap into the stores of fat we have. You need 1:30 or more to do that . One hour is good but push it and add some weight lifting in there and you can do it. :)

[rising4air]

Observer is spot-on. I found out I had high BP 9 months ago; have done everything the doctor has asked: cut out the junk, the meats, increase the fiber and the fresh foods, and consume what I will burn. Guess what? No weight loss.

Saw my doctor yesterday, in fact. He thinks my bmi is fine, and he's delighted that I have "normal BP" now. But, I left feeling resolved that any reduction in mass will take "months, or years." And that is OK. FYI: I walk for 45 to 90 minutes non-stop daily, and with additional exercise, usually total 45 minutes to 3 hours a day.

"Think months, or years": spot-on. There's no remote control to the future I am exercising toward...

[da]

I don't have an hour to waste.

[Ryan]

Eat less. Eat better. One thing in life is absolute - death. I would base your health decisions on that and your readiness to partake in it. If you don't have time - make it.

[goliath]

Having lost 90 pounds of fat several years ago and being several pounds less fat (and more weight) several years later, and having attended nutrition classes at UCLA, and having kept records for years, here are my bottom lines:

calories in / calories out is generally the most valuable metric. Eat more than you burn and you will gain weight. Exercise an hour per day an celebrate with a piece of pie and you will gain weight

I lost 90 pounds eating about 1000 calories per day. Metabolism slows only about 10 - 15% at such low calories. llso hunger shuts off.

If you are doing heavy strength training you will likely gain weight... but lose fat. this is good.

While I am a serious exerciser I know several people who lost weight years ago with me and don't exercise at all. But they eat less.

Bottom line... Exercise more and eat less and lose fat/weight. Eat less than you burn and lose weight

To those who think this is too hard... it is a choice. You will likely pay later for weight gained now.

[EattheRich]

The amount of exercise a person needs is more related to BMI than some people realize. There is a point at which a standard amount of exercise will yield an average amount of weight-loss. However, as BMI decreases, the percentage of weight-loss decreases. At a certain point (heredity linked) the amount of exercise will not yield an increased weight-loss amount...ie there is not a "negative" BMI. That being said, everyone's amount of exercise is a personal amount...not a "1 hour a day" kind of limit.

For those that would rather eat what they like and enjoy their lives, more power to you. There isn't a single study produced yet that shows growing older, be it being obese or "fit", ends in anything other than death. When you check out, it still requires atleast 6 people to carry you to your final resting place.

[Ken D]

Hey fatties and excuse makers. If all you are going to do is make excuses, you will be a fat slob your entire lives. I used to think like you do, but now I do something about it. I'm 34. I just hit a new maximum on my bench press of 245 lbs. I basically work our 3 times a week for 45 minutes each time. And yes I have 3 kids. I know what busy is.

If you are overweight and making excuses, you will remain a tub of lard the rest of your (short lived) days. Get off you big behind and do something. Turn of the TV. Stop eating fast food and and sugar.

Really its not that hard, but you have to want it.

[Steve Smith]

People, please read the results stated in the article. They do not agree with the conclusions:

"After two years, the average weight of all participants was only 5% lower than their initial weight,..."
Is 5% worth the effort?

"...and there was no difference among the groups."
So what you do doesn't matter anyway.

"But some did better than average. About a quarter of the women who managed to sustain a 10% weight loss exercised more, adhered to better eating habits and engaged more often by phone with the intervention team."

So one quarter (of a small fraction of the group) were as described above. What did the other 3/4 do? If 3/4 of these women who succeeded did NOT exercise more and did NOT adhere to better eating habits, what conclusion can be drawn?

This is shoddy science.

[telelou]

I personally found the one hour a day 4-5 days a week knocks the weight off and keeps it off. There were times I would be so tired after working 9-12 hrs a day, I literally started dozing off when I began my workouts. I stuck with it, and now I crave those workouts. Two years later I am down to a healthy weight (not skinny-boney look either). I simply stopped drinking all soda, no white bread, pasta, hydrogenated anything, no dressing on my salads (flavoring with veggies fruit & toppings) and I no longer crave those extras. Those things now taste "bad" to me if I eat any of it, including the fast food restraunt food. I still love the ice cream though, but I can be pickier about the quality and I don't want it all the time. We are the only mammals that can control how we feel, think, and even much of our envrionmental comfort. Those are the "tricks" that can be used to make your body behave the way you want it. Our superior brains can do more than we think we can initially. Good luck to all who want to let your own body know who is boss! By the way, I was able to control my reactive hypoglycemia this way, and I have fewer episodes, and no more medication! You can't tell I am excited about all this or anything can you?

[rob]

80% of our calorie burning is from our basal metabolic rate, the calories needed to maintain homeostasis while we do nothing. exercise is beneficial but the calories burned falls dramatically as soon as the activity is stopped. especially the treadmill-like aerobic. a more sustained elevation of metabolic rate is realized with resistance training and maintains lean mass for health and calorie burning. the key though is to increase your basal metabolic rate. eating 5 to 7 times/day (every ~2.5 to 3 hours) will keep metabolism up and smooth insulin peaks and valleys. you'll eat less per meal naturally cause you won't be famished and you'll know it's not going to be such a long time till the next meal. the caffeine and pastry breakfast (or no breakfast at all) is doing a number on us. caffeine->insulin spike->glucose surge->excess glucose stored as fat. to maintain a good roaring fire put on wood throughout the day in amounts that provide enough fuel but not too much such that you choke the fire and the "wood" lays there. too little wood (fuel) and the fire dies and can't burn fuel (too low metabolic rate). low rate->have to eat like a bird to avoid weight gain

[billc]

this is just more fat prejudice.

It only adenovirus 36 - a simple, worldwide viral infection.

the funny part will be when it is linked to prions - in a few years.

[Steph]

It's really not that hard. I think people forget what constitutes exercise, its simply a matter of staying active .
I'm not overweight, and have always been healthy, but its not necessarily in my genes to be that way. My moms side of the family, which I take after, is predisposed to weight gain and I think I haven't gained weight, even after a baby which I was worried about, for a few key reasons.

I don't ever just sit around and do nothing. I'm at work 10 hours a day and when I come home, I walk the dog as soon as I get in (and I do this 7 days a week, usually on the weekends I will walk him twice), get dinner started afterwards, vacuum, sweep the kitchen floor, mop if necessary, throw a load of laundry in and get it put away as well, eat dinner, wash dishes, get the kid ready for bed, and its usually 9 or 10 at night before I have a chance to just sit down.

I don't eat as well as I should, and I say that because I feel like I eat fast food too frequently. Having said that, I skip the Baconater and have a JR bacon cheeseburger, and wash it down with some gatorade, or maybe have a couple of tacos instead of the mexican pizza plus two tacos. Its not out of the ordinary for me to eat fresh fruit and raw vegetables as a meal for dinner or lunch, and I eat breakfast every day, a bowl of healthy cereal, like raisin bran or a bagel, with a piece of fruit and some yogurt.

And this is the hardest part...I only eat if I'm hungry. If I had a big lunch and aren't hungry for dinner, I'm not eating dinner. If at 9pm I get hungry, I'll snack on some cheese and fruit, make a fresh smoothie, or even eat another bowl of cereal.

I'm far from perfect, and have times where I eat out somewhere and gorge myself, or get in a foul mood and eat ice cream and candy, but on average, I stay busy and don't eat crap all the time. Its really not hard...there are too many obese people in this country that want to blame genetics and diseases and all kinds of crap on why they are fat when at the end of the day, they need to get up off the couch, put the doritos and the twinkies down, and go take a walk around the block.

Oh and a good way to avoid all the snacking, just do what I do; when you go grocery shopping, DON'T BUY JUNK FOOD. I have popcicles and ice cream sandwiches in the freezer and thats all of the junk that is in my entire house. Show some self control.