A recent study of 52 obese men with an average body mass index (BMI) of 31, demonstrated the power of exercise as a weight-loss tool.
One group of men dieted, consuming 700 calories per day less than they needed to maintain their weight. Another group walked or jogged on a treadmill at 80 percent of heart rate maximum for about an hour each day, long enough to burn off 700 calories.
After three months, both dieters and exercisers lost the same amount of weight – about 16.5 lbs, or eight percent of their body weight.
Exercisers, however, lost more abdominal fat (4.2 lbs or 1.9Kgs) than dieters (3.3 lbs or 1.5Kgs).
Exercisers also did not lose muscle mass the way dieters did, and got the added benefit of improved cardiovascular fitness.