Working out may change your life for the better, but it won't necessarily spur a change in your eating habits. The widely held belief that gym devotees eat less fat is unfounded, according to a new study. The research also suggests that women may have to work harder to lose weight than do men.
The researchers assigned 74 sedentary and overweight men and women to either a control group or an exercise group in which subjects walked on a treadmill for 45 minutes a day, five days a week. Both groups ate whatever they pleased. Their diet was measured throughout the 16-month trial.
Those who sweated through the experiment ate no differently in terms of the percentage of carbohydrates and fats than did the control group. Both groups also ate the same amount of protein. Joseph Donnelly, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, says the exercise industry often overstates the benefits of exercise alone.
