Combining regular exercise with cutting calories would achieve better health outcomes, according to a new study.
"It's better to lose weight with a combination of caloric reduction and exercise rather than caloric reduction alone," said study author Enette Larson-Meyer, an assistant professor of family and consumer science at the University of Wyoming.
Combining the two results in better health outcomes -- such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels -- than simply cutting calories alone, Larson-Meyer and his colleagues found in the study appearing in the January issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
For the six-month study, the researchers assigned 36 overweight men and women, average age 39, to one of three groups. One group cut calories by 25 percent. The second cut calories by about 12.5 percent and exercised enough to increase energy output by 12.5 percent. A control group simply stayed on a weight-maintenance diet.
At the study's end, both the caloric-restriction group and the caloric-restriction plus exercise group lost about 10 percent of their body weight. The average weight at the study start was about178 pounds, so the loss at the end was about 17 pounds on average.
The exercise prescription varied according to body weight at the start, but typically men walked for 50 minutes at a brisk pace five days a week, and women, 45 minutes five times a week, Larson-Meyer said. They could choose their preferred activity and intensity, however.
At the end, those who included exercise had better health outcomes, according to the study.
"The big improvement was related to blood pressure," Larson-Meyer said. The exercising and dieting group had greater blood pressure improvements, and improvement in cholesterol and insulin sensitivity, too, she said.
"It's not surprising at all," Larson-Meyer added. "They definitely work together."
Working with a professional to decide on calorie restriction and workout routine is best, especially for obese people with orthopedic problems, she noted.
新的一項研究發現把經常運動和減少卡路里攝入結合起來可以得到更好的健康結果。
研究報告作者,懷俄明大學家庭與消費者科學助理教授Enette Larson-Meyer指出較好的減肥方法是把堅持運動和減少卡路里的攝入結合起來,而不是僅僅減少卡路里的攝入。
與僅僅減少卡路里攝入相比,這兩者的結合可以得到更好的健康結果,其中包括使血壓和膽固醇降低。一月份的《體育醫學與健康》雜志刊登了Enette Larson-Meye和他同事們的這一發現。
在為期6個月的研究中,研究人員將36個平均年齡為39歲的超重男女分成了3組。一組減少了25%的卡路里攝入;第二組在減少大約12.5%卡路里的攝入的同時,還加上足夠的運動以增加12.5%的能量消耗;最后的一組只是簡單地繼續維持體重的飲食。
研究結束時,限制卡路里攝入的這組和限制卡路里攝入再加上運動的那組都減少了大約10%的體重。研究開始時他們的平均體重是178磅,平均減少的體重約為17磅。
Larson-Meye指出一開始運動方案根據每個人的體重而有所不同,但通常是男子每天輕松步行50分鐘,每星期運動5天;女子則是每天45分鐘,每星期運動5次。他們也可以選擇自己喜歡的運動及其強度。
最后根據這項研究,發現那些參加運動的人得到了更好的健康結果。
Larson-Meyer指出最大的改善是在血壓方面。運動加上節食這組成員的血壓得到了非常大的的改善,同時得到改善的還有膽固醇和胰島素敏感性。
他(全文不統一,前文中用的是his)還指出,最好是與專業人員一起來制定限制卡路里攝入和日常運動的方案,對畸形的超重者來說尤其應該如此。