Healthy living
Exercise and fitness
An hour of exercise a day to keep weight down
If you thought 30 minutes was tough, how about stretching your daily workout to nearly an hour? For overweight women who have successfully slimmed down, 55 minutes of exercise five days a week could be the ticket to staying that way, says weight loss research from the US
The study, published in the July issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, followed 201 overweight and obese women aged between 21 and 45 on a two-year weight loss programme that involved following a reduced-calorie diet, exercising regularly at varying intensities, regular group meetings and telephone support. The women who succeeded in losing the most weight, and keeping it off, were the ones doing the most exercise - an average of 275 minutes a week.
All the women were told to stick to a diet of between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. They were then split into four groups based on the amount of physical activity they would be doing – burning either 1,000 calories or 2,000 calories per week – and the intensity of their exercise – categorised as either ‘moderate’ or ‘vigorous’.
All were invited to attend group meetings about healthy eating and exercise and there was regular telephone contact.
After six months on the programme, women in all groups had lost an average of eight to 10 per cent of their initial body weight. Yet by the end of the two years, average weight loss was only five per cent of their start weight with no difference between the groups. The final weigh-ins showed that three-quarters of women had put back on almost half the weight they had lost in the early stages.
However, a quarter were able to maintain a loss of 10 per cent or more by the end of the study and their success was largely put down to their high level of exercise. Those that had kept off the weight were found to be doing an average of 275 minutes of exercise a week, burning over 1,800 calories.
By contrast, the UK guidelines state that adults should aim for just 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week. ‘It’s important to note that the national guidelines are considered the minimum required for general health and aren’t for people wanting to lose weight or maintain weight loss,’ says Vicky Lawson, spokesperson for the UK charity, Weight Concern. ‘This study concludes that 275 minutes of exercise a week are needed to keep off weight lost and that supports past studies.’
'While this is a useful study, we have to look at it with the knowledge that most people in the UK aren't even managing to do their 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. We're so far from that goal that any move to up exercise guidelines could have the effect of putting people off exercising entirely. They may think that 55 minutes a day is so beyond them they won't even attempt it.
'Although this study focuses on the importance of exercise for maintaining a healthy weight, physical activity has enormous benefits for all areas of your physical and mental health - even if you're just doing 30 minutes a day. You don't have to do it all in one go and any moderately physical activity can count, whether you choose gardening or the gym.
‘Exercise is rarely enough to maintain weight loss, either. A strong support network, an individual’s motivation levels as well as diet are all important,’ says Lawson. The successful women in the study were also had more telephone calls with the intervention team and had lower intakes of dietary fat.
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Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
