Un-Timely Report

A recent Time magazine article challenged the well accepted premise that exercise is helpful for weight loss and weight control. Indeed, the article even suggested that efforts to increase public physical activity levels over the past couple decades have actually contributed to the obesity epidemic. The article was based on anecdotal evidence and a single small scientific study. The article asserts that exercise can produce uncontrollable hunger and/or decrease in will power that causes people to eat in excess of what is burned off with the exercise performed. Rush Limbaugh who is right 99.7% of the time also embraced this report on his radio program indicating it was consistent with his own experiences. Well Rush this is one that you got wrong.

In reality, the vast majority of studies have shown that physical activity is an important component of successful weight loss programs, and is virtually indispensable for maintaining weight. This does not even include the myriad of studies revealing the other health benefits of regular exercise whether or not it leads to weight loss. Finally, when it comes to anecdotal evidence it would seem that these observations favor exercise as a valuable weight maintenance tool as well. Think about the people walking, running and biking around your neighborhood. If the Time magazine assertions are correct these should be the most obese people in the community. Clearly, that is not the case.