The close relationship between exercise and diet: the benefits of exercise

Week 1 - Slimming Exercise Secrets

■ The "close relationship" between exercise and diet

Besides controlling your diet, exercise is also an indispensable element in the weight loss process. Some obese people who have difficulty controlling their cravings may ask, "Can I just exercise and not control my diet?" In fact, there is a close relationship between exercise and eating habits in the weight loss process. Using either method alone will be less effective. Moreover, it is very hard to lose weight by exercising alone!

How so? Think of an ice-cold can of cola, a favorite summer thirst-quenching drink for many! But did you know that a person weighing about 60 kilograms would have to do 30 minutes of aerobic dance to burn off the calories in that can of cola? To give another example, eating a bowl of rice at each meal seems normal, but to burn off the calories in that bowl of rice by running, you'd have to run for at least 40-50 minutes. The effort required to burn off the calories from just one can of cold drink or one bowl of rice is already staggering, let alone high-calorie fried chicken and fries! So, some people might ask, can I control my diet and not exercise? Let's look at the following information about the relationship between exercise and physiology, and you'll find the answer!

■ Regular exercise has many benefits

It's also incorrect to think that diet is more important and that exercise doesn't help with weight loss! Numerous clinical studies have shown that exercise has many benefits!

1. Improves mood and makes one more positive and cheerful.

2. Assists in long-term weight control and maintenance.

3. Accelerates the burning of excess fat.

4. Increase the proportion of lean body mass in the body.

5. Adjust appetite.

6. Reduce mortality rate.

7. Reduce the incidence of osteoporosis.

Among the various health benefits of exercise, two noteworthy effects are "accelerating the burning of excess fat" and "increasing the proportion of lean muscle tissue in the body." Generally speaking, while restricting diet can lead to weight loss, it doesn't change body composition (the ratio of body fat to lean muscle). What are the benefits of changing body composition? Lean muscle tissue has a faster metabolic rate and burns more calories. As long as the proportion of lean muscle tissue increases, the incidence of obesity naturally decreases.

The rate at which we burn the calories we consume varies depending on our body fat percentage. Therefore, even if two people have the same weight, the person with a higher percentage of body fat will have a higher rate of obesity than the person with the same weight but a higher percentage of lean body fat due to their lower calorie expenditure.

In addition, don't forget the previously mentioned idea that exercise can regulate appetite and reduce overeating. Choosing aerobic exercises, such as brisk walking and jogging, can also increase the heart's oxygen exchange capacity, strengthen heart function, and reduce the chance of death from heart disease. Women under 35 and men under 40 can also strengthen bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis by doing more weight-bearing exercises, such as walking or jogging while holding dumbbells of about 0.5 to 1 kg in both hands (cans or sandbags of the same weight can be used instead, but they must be firmly gripped).

■Comprehensive Exploration of Body Fat

As discussed earlier, body composition is increasingly important. In fact, today, the "body fat percentage" is being used to define obesity, replacing "weight-to-height ratio" or "ideal weight." Generally speaking, healthy adult men should not have more than 23% body fat, and women should not have more than 27%. Do you know what percentage of your total weight is fat?

In the early days, to determine the body fat percentage, an instrument called a caliper was used to measure the thickness of the deltoid muscle and subcutaneous fat under the scapula, as well as the combined measurements of arm circumference and arm muscle circumference, to calculate the body fat percentage. However, because this instrument was difficult to operate and had poor accuracy, a new instrument was later developed. It utilizes the different electrical resistance between body fat and lean muscle tissue, using a slight current to generate different resistance ratios in the body to measure the body fat percentage.

Initially, when using this instrument, the test subject had to lie down, attach conductive pads to their hands and feet, and then apply electricity (a very low current, so there would be no electric shock) to measure. Now, there are simple body fat measuring instruments specifically designed for home use. For example, they look similar to a regular weighing scale. The test subject only needs to take off their shoes and socks and stand on the body fat measuring instrument. Information such as the ratio of body fat to lean tissue and weight is quickly displayed on a digital screen.

Body fat is composed of two elements: the number of fat cells and the lipids (glycerides) within the fat cells. The number of fat cells in adults is fixed, so weight gain is mainly due to an increase in the amount of lipids within fat cells. In contrast, obesity in childhood or adolescence is caused by an increase in the number of fat cells more than an increase in the amount of lipids within fat cells.

Therefore, adolescent obesity often lays the foundation for adult obesity. Furthermore, people who are overweight from childhood often find it more difficult to lose weight as adults and have a higher rate of weight regain because they have more fat cells than average. Many outdated beliefs hold that chubby children are cute, but the truth is, looking cute as a child may come at the cost of obesity and even health problems later in life! Therefore, parents should be mindful of their children's weight.