Exercise for Fat Loss
For some women, movement may be the missing factor for weight loss.
If your female clients aren’t getting the results they want with their current approach to food planning, they may be among a group of people who need a slightly different and customized approach involving more exercise for fat loss.
University of Ottawa, Ontario, researchers found that exercise can be crucial for fat loss among women who have had minimal results with diets. “For those who have obesity and who’ve had enormous difficulty losing weight, the message for them is: You are in a group of individuals for whom exercise is particularly important,” said study author Ruth McPherson, MD, PhD, professor at the Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. “[Exercise is] really going to help you lose weight.”
People in the bottom 20% for rate of weight loss after following a low-calorie diet are identified as having “diet-resistant” obesity. For these individuals, study authors note that exercise improves body composition, skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and metabolism; therefore, exercise should be prioritized above dieting. Understanding individual differences enables more personalized approaches for people who need to lose body fat for health reasons.
The research is reported in eBioMedicine (2022; 83 [104192]).
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
