Comments on: New Study Reveals that Exercise Won't Make You Thin

By: Jacques

Jacques — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:19:02 +0000

Well this should probably be filed/tagged under "noshitsherlock". But it's still an interesting result.

By: SD

SD — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:37:49 +0000

DUH. It's so obvious. Just ask Oprah.

STOP EATING SO MUCH, YOU FAT OAF!

By: amelia

amelia — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:08:40 +0000

This study seems to be slightly inaccurate though.
There seems to be no mention on body fat ratio or on the general appearance of the participants. It is a well known fact that muscles are much heavier than fat and a person weighing 56kg may be much leaner than one weighing 54kg (assuming they have the same height). hence weight as an indicator is not very accurate. that being said, one might exercise regularly and become slimmer but lose no weight as the fat lost is replaced by muscle mass.

By: Anon

Anon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:52:51 +0000

Look, Alex, writing headlines (or even copying them) that mislead the reader is flat out wrong to say the least. Two wrongs don't make a right, and sensationalist headlines don't either. I will take all your posts with a grain of salt from now on.

By: HollywoodBob

HollywoodBob — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:55:11 +0000

@DOJ, Basically yes. If you eat more than your body consumes each day you need to exercise or your body with store the excess fuel as a fat. When you eat less than your body's energy needs, it will consume fat to balance its usage. That's why if you're trying to lose weight a low calorie, low fat, high fiber diet combined with a moderate amount of activity are so good. One of the reasons some diets advise cutting out carbohydrates is because they easily convert into surplus sugar and then to fat. But I've found (I have many relatives that have tried fad diets, and I used to be obese) that best results for maintaining a healthy weight is really simple, eat when you get hungry, but only enough to curb your hunger, you'll find that your caloric intake will be drastically diminished, your food bills will go down, and your clothes will get loose. My parents and I lost a total of 430lbs and have kept it off for 5 years thanks to this method.

By: DOJ

DOJ — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:32:18 +0000

if you eat less, you can exercise less?

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:24:31 +0000

In other news, consuming more calories than you use makes you fat. Astounding.

By: uberuber

uberuber — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:27:21 +0000

While I do believe it's a bit misleading (our systems do require physical activity for optimal performance!) there is something to be said for the Western diet-the amount of sugars we ingest (especially the high fructose corn syrup that is in virtually EVERYTHING even mildly processed), the additives, hormones, the reliance on meat for the majority of our meals, etc.

By: Mr. Binky

Mr. Binky — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:45:37 +0000

Exercise will make you lose weight, lose fat, and make you healthier! You need to get a good amount of good food as well.

There, I said it.

Also, this sentence makes no sense:
"Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity."

By: NicoNicoNico

NicoNicoNico — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:57:53 +0000

When I was younger, exercise worked for me. Then again, I exercised five hours a day. (Excessive, I know, but I had A LOT of energy that would have otherwise gone to eating, shopping, or other destructive activity.) Too bad I can't do that anymore due to my physical disability. Waaaa.

Anyway, interesting study. It just goes to show that the more a food is processed, the less good it is for you.

By: Rocky Rook

Rocky Rook — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:36:23 +0000

The avg Chicago woman's weight is probably a little high due to the fact that Oprah lives there

By: Idil

Idil — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:23:55 +0000

I think you cannot determine this by looking at ethnic groups. Some ethnic groups have particular characteristics, such as more bone mass, than others, which are generally very thin. For example, I could never be "slim" because I have a lot of muscle and my bones are strong, whereas I can be fit and toned and lose fat if I excersized. But that doesnt mean I'll ever be skinny. People should not try to achieve slimness, but fitness... because it's impossible for some people to achieve "slimness" if they're not built that way. And fitness can only be acheived by excersize and healthy food... most importantly, exercize.

By: Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:02:47 +0000

This study is meaningless because it's isolated to one specific ethnic group. To put it very harshly, there is a group here that, at one point, was selected and bred. The selection was based, in part, of a heavier bodyweight to survive a brutal voyage across the ocean.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:56:14 +0000

I also find it hard to see how they came to their conclusions from the information they surveyed. Sure, the difference in "these two populations" would be attributed to diet, but that does not mean you can't lose weight by exercising.

By: sparge

sparge — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:29:35 +0000

OK, I actually RTFA, and I guess you're not the only one using that headline, so I take back the sentiment that I'm holding you personally accountable.

By: sparge

sparge — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:24:36 +0000

Alex, I think you need to take that logic test posted yesterday. Your headline is beyond misleading... it's completely untrue. There's just no way you can look at a study in which neither of the involved groups exercised and conclude that exercise is or is not responsible for anything.

I know you like to write misleading headlines to bring in traffic, but this is the worst one yet.

By: Harry

Harry — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:37:18 +0000

Wow this is astounding. It seems like research projects will support any old rubbish someone thinks of. Managing your weight is about 2 things: a better diet and exercise. It's simple, but unfortunately there are many people who refuse to accept it. Thus fad diets, fat pills and the 'discovery' of a fat gene (please). And now some muppet says exercising doesn't have an effect on your weight. The obesity 'epidemic'??? Like that's something you catch? I'm sure it has nothing to do with sitting on the couch all day watching ESPN and eating pizza. Rant over