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A Healthy Diet Is The Key To Tackling Obesity – NOT Exercise, Say Doctors

Doctors warn that the impact of physical activity on obesity is ‘minimal’ and people should focus on cutting excess sugar and carbs from their diets instead

For those people that hit the gym regularly so they can eat what they want, you might want to re-think your diet strategy after doctors warned that exercise had a ‘minimal’ impact on obesity.

A new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that diet is actually the most important element in tackling obesity – NOT physical activity.

Diet is the key to obesity fight, not exercise, warn doctors [Rex]
Diet is the key to obesity fight, not exercise, warn doctors [Rex]

The three industry experts who published the study said that while exercise helped ward off diseases including diabetes and heart disease, it had a ‘minimal’ effect on obesity levels.

And they criticised the current government advice as it recommends a calorie-controlled diet as one of the ways to lose weight – and not the actual SOURCE of the calories.



Doctors urged people to cut down on their sugar intake [RealBuzz]
Doctors urged people to cut down on their sugar intake [RealBuzz]

The experts suggested that the best way to reduce obesity levels was for people to cut out excess sugar and carbohydrates from their diet – and not just think that because they exercise, they can eat whatever they want.

"An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less. My biggest concern is that the messaging that is coming to the public suggests you can eat what you like as long as you exercise,” said London cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, who worked on the study.

"That is unscientific and wrong. You cannot outrun a bad diet."

Exercise so you can eat what you want? It won't work, warn experts [RealBuzz]
Exercise so you can eat what you want? It won't work, warn experts [RealBuzz]

He, along with the other two doctors on the study, quoted research which found that a poor diet was linked to more health issues than lack of exercise, alcohol and smoking combined.

But professionals at the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said it ‘idiotic’ to play down the importance of exercise, reports BBC News, and NICE still recommends a healthy diet combined with regular physical activity.

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