An understanding of fat-burning exercise and nutrition is vital to achieving and maintaining permanent weight loss and fat reduction. But which one has more impact on fat burning? Scientific studies have been conducted to determine the answer.
weight loss studies
Only a few studies have been done to establish whether fat-burning exercise or nutrition has a greater impact on fat burning. The studies were particularly interesting.
They compared weight loss results between people moving from big cities to suburbs and vice versa. Subjects from cities and suburbs had similar dietary intakes. The results were expected, but fascinating.
Results of weight loss studies
- within the first year of moving from a city to the suburbs, study participants gained, on average, 15 pounds
- within the first six to eight months of moving to a city from the suburbs, study subjects lost an average of 15 pounds
The main conclusion of the studies was the following: Subjects who lived in a city walked more than subjects who lived in the suburbs. Whereas subjects living in the suburbs traveled by car to get where they wanted to go (grocery store or school, etc.), subjects from the city often walked there. This was responsible for the weight change.
An expert in the field of Applied Physiology and Nutrition has said that fat burning exercise has a greater impact on fat loss and permanent weight loss than nutrition. He said that exercise represents 65% and nutrition 35%.
Most experts agree that in a perfect world, you would do a recommended fat-burning exercise routine in addition to addressing your nutrition, if you want to burn fat and achieve permanent weight loss. But we don’t live in a perfect world and none of us are perfect.