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Dangers of Dieting Without Exercise

The Negative Effects of Being Sedentary

A sedentary lifestyle (not performing any regular exercise) not only adds on weight and sabotages any diet program, it also increases visceral fat (abdominal fat), which is so dangerous because it surrounds and smothers the internal organs (liver, heart, lungs and intestinal organs). Visceral fat is a major contributory cause of insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), heart disease, hypertension, inflammation of the arteries and risk of sudden heart attack. Here is a major clinical study that proves the inevitable outcome of a sedentary lifestyle.

A 6-month study by Duke University, which was presented to the American College of Sports Medicine, involved 175 overweight sedentary adults who were assigned to groups according to varying amounts of exercise. The first group did no exercise, the second did small amounts; the third did moderate amounts and the fourth exercised the most. The exercise was carried out on treadmills and elliptical trainers and the participants were not permitted to change their diet whatsoever during the course of the study.

At end of six months, the sedentary first group registered an 8.6% increase in visceral fat. While at the other end of the spectrum, the high-intensity group lost 6.9% of their visceral fat, and dropped another 7% of their subcutaneous fat (the fat you can pinch under your skin).

And there was another big surprise. In the group that did no exercise, the men showed a 1.5 percent increase in weight, while the women had only a 0.6 percent increase. Yet the men showed a 5.7 percent increase in visceral fat while the women had a whooping 11.6 percent increase in visceral fat – double the rate than the men. This discrepancy shows an unusually high tendency for accumulation of visceral fat in women that warrants further study.

Calorie Restriction Weight Loss Without Exercise Leads to Bone Loss

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis conducted a one-year study of 48 adults with an average age of 57. The participants were divided into groups with some dieting with no exercise, some to maintain their present diet and add an exercise program and a control group who did neither.

All volunteers were weighed at the beginning and at regular intervals throughout the year. Likewise, all participants were given bone density tests every 3 months using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Also blood samples were taken to monitor hormone levels and biochemical markers that indicate whether bone tissue is being absorbed and regenerated.

At the end of the year, the diet-only group lost an average of 18.1 pounds; the exercise group lost 14.8 pounds and the control group maintained their weight. Participants in the diet-only group showed a loss of 2.2% of bone density in the lower spine and at the hip, and 2.1 at the top end of the femur (thigh bone) – all areas of high risk for fractures. In the exercise and control groups, there were no signs of bone density loss.

In conclusion, the medical scientists explained that action of muscles pulling on bones during exercise causes a strain on the skeleton that simulates new bone production, hence the positive results of the exercise group. However weight loss alone causes a reduction of mechanical stress on the skeleton, resulting in the loss of bone density in the diet-only group. These differing outcomes highlight the crucial implications for middle-aged adults seeking weight loss. Loss of bone density not only creates a high risk for osteoporosis (weakening of the bones), it also makes one vulnerable to breaking a major weight-bearing bone with any fall or sudden impact.

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Sources: Inactivity Induces Increases in Abdominal Fat Journal of Applied Physiology 102: 1341-1347, 2007 November 22, 2006; doi:10 What Causes Osteoporosis? National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis) Bone Mineral Density Response to Caloric Restriction-induced Weight Loss or Exercise-induced Weight Loss: a randomized controlled trial Archives of Internal Medicine 2006 Dec 11-25;166(22):2502-10

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