According to wtaq.com, exercise won’t cure obesity. They say that obesity causes a sedentary lifestyle.
In my opinion, obesity can be a vicious cycle- being slightly sedentary (combined with poor nutrition) will make you put on slightly more weight, making it slightly more difficult to exercise. This cycle will repeat itself until you find yourself completely sedentary and obese, unless you decide to change something.
“Researchers at Hunter College in New York found that active Tanzanians who walk miles a day to hunt for their food burn no more calories than Americans who walk to the refrigerator. And that led the researchers to conclude that obesity is more about what we put in our mouths, and less about how much we exercise.”
The Tanzanians’ diet is mostly starches, like millet, beans, pilaf and cornmeal. Not a lot of fruits and veggies! The American diet isn’t much better, mainly composed of fast food and boxed food items filled with preservatives. What about the vitamins and minerals only found in fruits and veggies? These nutrients are important to the digestive process. Without them, your body has a more difficult time processing foods efficiently.
With all of this information in mind, what do you think?
I think that good health and weight loss are less about nutrition vs. exercise, and more about balancing nutrition and exercise. According to Dr. Donald Hensrud M.D. from the Mayo Clinic, “The key to weight loss is burning more calories than you consume”.
Ideally you should compare the calories you consume with the calories you burn. When planning a weight loss plan, you shouldn’t modify your calorie intake and usage by more than 300-400 calories. This will keep your body from entering a stage of ketosis, the body’s way of limiting energy usage when calorie levels are low, including limited brain function.
At the end of the day, good health is about taking care of your body, not some “quick fix diet”. Eating good foods and focusing on a balance of foods from each food group, combined with regular exercise are the habits that will lead to a healthier life. This is no secret, and it’s certainly nothing new or questionable; these ideas have stood the test of time. So get off your computer and start exercising!
