Even researchers inform us that exercise is essential to losing weight and maintaining an ideal weight. For example, Harvard Women’s Health Watch researchers at the University of Alabama carried out a one-year follow-up of 47 women, aged 20-46 who had an initial body mass index of less than 25. The scientists found that women who maintained their weight were 44% more physically active than women who gained weight, putting on an average of 21 pounds.
The critical difference between the groups of women was engagement in low-intensity daily activities, such as walking, climbing stairs or gardening. The researchers concluded that 77% of the weight gainers’ added pounds corresponded to insufficient daily activity, not dietary or metabolic factors.
Many men and women are dissatisfied with their body size and shape. Men tend to take up exercise, but for women body dissatisfaction translates into dieting.
Jane Ogden, The Psychology of Eating
Moreover, while official guidelines recommend burning around 1,000 calories per week doing physical activity, that’s probably not enough to encourage weight loss or prevent weight gain after weight is lost. Women in the National Weight Control Registry, who have maintained a minimum weight loss of 30 pounds for an average of five-and-a-half years, burned almost three times that amount per week.
Researchers in Norway treated 48 women practicing bulimia with nutritional counseling, behavioral therapy, or moderate exercise for one hour a week. Six months later, the exercisers experienced fewer bulimic episodes than the women who underwent behavioral therapy. The exercisers also felt fitter and more confident about their body image. Prevention magazine’s weight loss advisor, Kelly Brownell, Ph.D., explains that exercise may be an effective antidote for bulimia since physical activity regulates eating, improves mood, and builds self-esteem.
Similarly, a report from the Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter concluded that women who exercise regularly often gain a sense of mastery and competence that enhances their self- and body-esteem.