Student Education News

Why bother with exercise?

Why bother with exercise?
Exercise scientists at the University of Leeds, are concerned TV viewers have been left with the message that exercise may never lead to weight loss and is therefore a waste of time.

Exercise scientists at the University of Leeds, are concerned TV viewers have been left with the message that exercise may never lead to weight loss and is therefore a waste of time.

The concerns are in response to the BBC2 programme, ‘The Men Who Made Us Thin’, shown on the 15th August, examining the financial motivations behind the fitness industry.

A scientist from the University of Leeds team explained: “When exercise alone or in conjunction with a weight loss diet results in burning more calories than we consume, weight loss is likely to occur. However, an initial exercise related increase in muscle mass may delay this weight loss.

“Part of the problem with such programmes is that they often focus solely on the impact that exercise has upon weight loss. Consequently, a wealth of other exercise related benefits are ignored. For example, our research at Leeds has shown that regular exercise is associated with a better quality of life, including improved sleep patterns, better coping mechanisms (especially in illness), improved cognitive function, and a sense of well-being. While it is important to maintain a healthy weight, in studies, our participants who remained overweight following exercise also showed improvements in well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a major cause of death in the UK. We thus strongly advocate that weight loss should not be the primary motivation for doing exercise; you don’t have to be “Jane Fonda thin” to be healthy!” 

6th September 2013