Projo Fitness Blog

Time magazine's recent cover story, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin", does a good job of attracting readers, but I'm convinced that the science behind its premise is flawed.

Author John Cloud -- who admits to being an obsessive gym-goer himself -- makes the case that exercise can even hurt your waistline, as 30 minutes of hard cardio can make you sit on your butt the rest of the day, counting as a minus in the column for the amount of energy humans burn in their daily lives.

Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University, is quoted in the article saying, "In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless."

Like another researcher quoted in the article, many of us can point to the friend in our Pilates class who hits Dunkin' Donuts after the gym and negates all the work she's done by eating a muffin -- which is more than the 200 calories she's just burned.

But, the story notes that those who exercise tend to live healthier lifestyles in general. "Today doctors encourage even their oldest patients to exercise, which is sound advice for many reasons: People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases -- those of the heart in particular. They less often develop cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses," Cloud writes.

Indeed. And that's where I think the article does a disservice. People who exercise more often tend to live a healthier lifestyle. When you're working out several times a week, you're more aware of what you're eating because you won't want to ruin all the work you've put in to that effort.

And yes, I'll agree with the argument Cloud uses that notes that humans aren't very efficient at burning fat -- unlike rats, who can party like it's 1999 and still stay trim.

But, the byproduct of exercise -- building muscle -- helps you burn more fat.

And, there's one added benefit of workouts that Time doesn't cover, it's a great way to handle stress better, and stress, as we all know, can cause us to overeat.

Weight loss experts have been saying for years that there's no "magic pill" to take off unwanted pounds. Diet is important, but so is exercise. People who exercise feel stronger, feel younger and happier, have fewer aches and pains and more joint flexibility. How can you beat that?

 Tags  exercise Time magazine weight loss

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