Exercise doesn’t just help you lose weight, one of the country’s leading experts sensationally claimed.
Professor Tim Spector, a prolific nutrition researcher and author, has accepted that exercise is “fantastic” for your overall health, especially your heart.
He even insisted that “we should all do it.”
But when it comes to weight loss, Professor Spector argues that exercise “by itself makes no sense.” That goes against advice from health officials around the world, who say it’s the “key” to hitting the bump.
Professor Spector acknowledged that while exercise is “great for your health” and “great for your mood,” you shouldn’t just exercise if “your goal is weight loss.”
Professor Tim Spector (pictured above) said the exercise had been “much exaggerated as a simple solution to our obesity problem”.
Exercise — of any kind — actually plays “a very small role in weight loss,” he explained on Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Diary of a CEO.
Professor Spector, who trained as an epidemiologist and became famous for tracking Covid during the pandemic, said: “All the long-term studies show it doesn’t help weight loss…
“This has been greatly exaggerated as a simple solution to our obesity problem.
This is evident from all studies.
“The only caveat to this is that if you’ve changed your diet, improved your diet and lost some weight, maintaining exercise will prevent it from coming back on.”
“But by itself, it’s useless if you don’t change your eating habits, and all the obesity experts and the studies know that.”
He added: “It’s great for your health, I exercise.” It’s great for your mood, it’s great for your heart.
“We should all be doing it, but absolutely not if your goal is weight loss.
“This is a huge myth that is mostly perpetuated by gyms and fitness apps. This is total nonsense,” he said.
Professor Spector’s comments contradict some of the most trusted health advice. “Being active is key to losing weight and keeping it off,” says the NHS.
Counting calories is pointless, says top diet expert… so here’s what you should do instead
Professor Tim Spector advocated that dieters should focus on making sure their plate is filled with quality foods such as fruit, vegetables and nuts
It adds that eating fewer calories will help you lose weight, but keeping the fat off “requires physical activity to burn energy.”
A calorie is a way of measuring energy – either the amount in food or the amount burned through activity.
People gain weight when they consume more calories than they burn through daily activity. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in.
As a result, calorie restriction – or more exercise – are the first steps for many striving for a lean physique.
In the same podcast, Professor Spector advised that people who want to lose weight should simply change their diet.
He said counting calories, while effective in the short term, is “complete nonsense” because most people who stick to the boring regimen “recover.”
Instead, he advised eating more plant-based foods and avoiding ultra-processed foods within a 10-hour window.
Official guidelines suggest that adults should get 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week, spread over four to five days.
Examples of vigorous physical activity include running, swimming, jumping and climbing stairs.
In the US there is similar advice – which also includes muscle strengthening exercises two days a week.
Lack of exercise combined with an unhealthy diet is blamed for the growing obesity epidemic worldwide.
Two thirds of UK adults are overweight and more of us are predicted to gain weight in the future. In the US, the rates are even higher.
In other health news…
The 79-year-old grandmother was tied to a dustbin lid and driven to the emergency room after breaking her hip “because there was no ambulance available”.
Big rise in UK Covid cases amid ‘Kraken’ variant fears: one in 20 people infected over Christmas after cases DOUBLE in December as NHS battles ‘twin epidemic’.
Doctors in training may strike for 72 HOURS in March, warns ‘militant’ union and demands 26% pay rise
Source link
Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
