Study: Physical Activity Alone May Not Improve Weight Loss Efforts
According to a recent study, higher volumes of physical activity alone are not significantly associated with protective effects against future weight gain, and that other factors, including food environment, may have a more critical role.
The study was conducted in 5 countries—Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles, and the United States—and included 1944 men and women, predominately of African descent. Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and body composition were measure at baseline, at 1-year follow up, and at 2-year follow-up. Baseline physical activity was assessed using an accelerometer worn around the participant’s waist for 7 days, and measured in 1 minute bouts of moderate and vigorous physical activity and daily sedentary time.
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The lowest body weights at baseline were measured in men from Ghana (63.4 ± 9.5 kg) and men from South Africa (64.9 ± 11.8 kg). The highest body weight was measured in men (93.6 ± 25.9 kg) and women (91.7 ± 23.4 kg) from the United States. Prevalence of normal weight ranged from 85% in Ghanaian men and 52% in Ghanaian women to 29% in US men and 15% in US women.
US men and Jamaican women experienced the smallest annual weight change over the 2-year follow-up period. The greatest annual weight change was measured in South African men and Ghanaian women.
Overall, the researchers’ findings showed that the mean annual weight gain was larger among individuals who were of normal weight at baseline than those who were overweight/obese at baseline.
Neither baseline moderate to vigorous physical activity or sedentary time were associated with weight change, but baseline weight, age, and gender were associated with weight gain in participants after researchers used multiple linear regression.
The study suggests that physical activity alone is not protective against weight gain and that other environmental factors, such as food environment, may have a more critical role.
“This is not to say, that [physical activity] per se is not important for overall achievement of health such as the prevention or delay of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which is undisputed (Glenn et al., 2015; Lin et al., 2015; Long et al., 2015), but that its role in the prevention of population level weight gain may be overstated,” the researchers wrote.
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Dugas LR, Kliethermes S, Plange-Rhule J, et al. Accelerometer-measured physical activity is not associated with two-year weight change in African-origin adults from five diverse populations [published online January 19, 2017]. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.2902.