This research shows that along with dieting, when overweight
women started a new exercise routine after years of being
inactive, it didn't really matter whether they came out of
the gate running or walking briskly. After a year, there was
only a total weight-loss difference of 1 1/2 pounds between
them.

"It appears that intensity is not the main factor impacting
long-term weight loss," says researcher John M. Jakicic,
PhD, director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management
Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Exercise As Little as 10 Minutes

---------------------------------------------------

It's consistency -- doing some exercise on a regular basis,
"even accumulated in bouts of as little as 10 minutes at a
time," he tells WebMD.

Jakicic reports that women who started to exercise 200
minutes a week at vigorous levels -- such as running or
another activity to leave them panting and sweaty -- shed an
average of 19 1/2 pounds after a year, compared with the 18
pounds lost by those spending the same time in more moderate
workouts such as walking. Women who exercised 150 minutes a
week lost about 15 1/2 pounds with vigorous workouts and 14
pounds at a moderate pace.

Men weren't studied, but Jakicic says there's no reason to
believe results would differ in them.

The take-home message: Whatever pace you exercise, do it
regularly. "It's best if individuals develop a pattern of
exercise that's performed on a daily basis," he tells WebMD.

The Right Exercise

-------------------------------------------------

His findings, published in this week's Journal of the
American Medical Association, reinforce the often-prescribed
recommendations for better health from getting at least 30
minutes of exercise at least five days a week, even if it's
at a moderate level. That's important because most dieters
give up on exercise programs after a few months, often
because they find them too difficult. But by engaging in
less strenuous activities such as walking at least a
20-minute-per-mile pace, they may be more likely to
continue.

Of course, Jakicic's findings also support that other factor
crucial for successful weight loss -- cutting calories.

The 200 women he evaluated, typically 5-foot-4 and weighing
192 pounds when his study began, all cut their calories to
1,200 to 1,500 a day and fat intake to no more than 30% of
total calories consumed.

"In this study, they cut calories by almost one-third their
previous levels," says I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, of Harvard
Medical School, who wrote an accompanying editorial to
Jakicic's study.

"It's a balance issue. You can exercise very little but eat
nothing and still lose weight. It comes down to how much you
are willing to sacrifice, in terms of what you eat and what
you do to burn it off. Most people don't want to cut their
food intake by too much."

Still, Lee tells WebMD that this study shows that a little
exercise, done consistently, can do a lot of good.

Pump Up Your Fitness, Too

-------------------------------------

The researchers also found that all four levels of exercise
had the same effect on improving fitness level. Looking at
increases in oxygen consumption -- a measure of how well the
body uses oxygen for energy -- the researchers found that
all four groups had similar improvements after 12 months of
exercise.

The Greatest Weight Loss

-------------------------------------

"You will get the greatest weight loss from changing your
caloric intake in the short run," says Jakicic. "However, it
appears that without the exercise, the initial weight loss
is less and the long-term maintenance of weight loss becomes
extremely difficult. So, diet without exercise will make the
maintenance of weight loss very difficult."

Conversely, he says that exercise without dieting makes
weight loss slow and probably less effective -- especially
if you're looking to drop serious poundage.

His recommendation for the ideal combination: "If an
individual reduces their current level of intake by 500 to
1,000 calories per day and exercises 30 to 60 minutes a day,
the weight loss will be around two pounds per week, on
average."

Source: WebMD

About The Author
----------------
Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information
on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related
health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web
sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for
www.ageforce.com