A Dynamic And Adaptable System

[The following are two excerpts from an article I recently read on the benefits / effectiveness of increasing exercise on long-term weight loss.  I highly recommend clicking on the links to read the original article(s).    —    kmab]
University of Alabama obesity researcher David Allison sums up the research this way:  Adding physical activity has a very modest effect on weight loss — “a lesser effect than you’d mathematically predict,” he said.
We’ve long thought of weight loss in simple “calories in, calories out” terms.  In a much-cited 1958 study, researcher Max Wishnofsky outlined a rule that many organizations — from the Mayo Clinic to Livestrong — still use to predict weight loss:  A pound of human fat represents about 3,500 calories;  therefore, cutting 500 calories per day, through diet or physical activity, results in about a pound of weight loss per week.  Similarly, adding 500 calories a day results in a weight gain of about the same.
Today, researchers view this rule as overly simplistic.  They now think of human energy balance as “a dynamic and adaptable system,” as one study describes.  When you alter one component — cutting the number of calories you eat in a day to lose weight, doing more exercise than usual — this sets off a cascade of changes in the body that affect how many calories you use up and, in turn, your bodyweight.
…
There are three main components to energy expenditure, (Alexxai) Kravitz explained:  1)  basal metabolic rate, or the energy used for basic functioning when the body is at rest;  2)  the energy used to break down food;  and,  3)  the energy used in physical activity.
We have very little control over our basal metabolic rate, but it’s our biggest energy hog.  “It’s generally accepted that for most people, the basal metabolic rate accounts for 60 to 80 percent of total energy expenditure,” Kravitz said.  Digesting food accounts for about 10 percent.
That leaves only 10 to 30 percent for physical activity, of which exercise is only a subset.  (You can read more about this concept here and here.)
“It’s not nothing, but it’s not nearly equal to food intake — which accounts for 100 percent of the energy intake of the body,” Kravitz said.  “This is why it’s not so surprising that exercise leads to [statistically] significant, but small, changes in weight.”
—     Julia Belluz and Javier Zarracina
From the article:  “Why You Shouldn’t Exercise to Lose Weight, Explained With 60+ Studies“
The article appeared in (on):  “www.vox.com“
I found the article at:  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-you-shouldn-t-exercise-to-lose-weight-explained-with-60-studies
The original article appears at:  https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-myth-burn-calories
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On This Day In:
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2020	We Are All Fish
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2019	A Dynamic And Adaptable System
2018	Speak Your Mind
2017	And I Thought It Was Just Me Getting Old
2016	One For Whole
2015	A Good Present
2014	And Your Point Is?
2013	Our Never-Ending Task
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2012	More Mature Than I Thought
2011	Outlaw’s Music
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