Mathematically, it is unstoppable: to lose weight, you just need to eat fewer calories than what you spend. However, in reality, it is nowhere near that easy: the body automatically compensates for the increased expenditure with a reduction in basal metabolism. And this is even more true for obese people.
L’energy spent in a day is made up of metabolism basic (brain function, digestion…) and activity physical (reading, gardening, sport, etc.). To lose weight, you should theoretically increase your energy expenditure. by doing more sport for example. Unfortunately, this simple addition does not work in real life and in the long run. According to a study published in the journal Current Biology, the body automatically reduces its basal metabolism when you increase your physical activity, which means that the sum of the two (activity + basal metabolism) is not equal to the total actual expenditure.
It’s like trying to balance a budget. If we spend more on education, we have less money to maintain the roads
Imagine that you are running every day on a treadmill that tells you you’ve burned 300 calories. So you think you have increased your Energetic cost of 300 calories, enough to burn a pain au chocolat. But, if this calculation works roughly during the first few days, it becomes less and less true over time, the body compensating for this increased energy expenditure by reducing the expenditure in other positions (thermogenesis, metabolism …). ” It is like a government trying to balance its budget. If we spend more on education, we have lesssilver to maintain the roads “, Compares Lewis Halsey, co-author of the study, in the Guardian. On average, the energy compensation is 28%, according to the authors’ calculations. In other words, if you are spending 300 calories on your treadmill or on your training bike the actual additional energy expenditure will only be 300 x 72%, or 216 calories.
Overweight people almost offset half of the extra calories burned
This explains why all those who try to losing weight inevitably reach a “plateau” and must increase their expenses more and more if they want to continue losing weight. Further unfairness, the energy compensation is much higher in overweight people. While people in the first decile of the BMI (body mass index) distribution offset 28% of activity calories, those in the last decile almost offset half (49.2%). ” People with higher fat levels may become bigger “compensators” as they gain weight., suggests Lewis Halsey. Then follows a loop of feedback negative where the use of physical exercise to lose weight is less and less effective “. In particular, it has been shown that the amount of muscle mass explains 25 to 70% of the variability in basal metabolism.
How harmful is sport?
These results corroborate those of other studies, which show in particular that the total energy expenditure is about the same in industrialized countries where people are rather sedentary, and in less developed countries, which are characterized by increased physical activity (less motorized transport, agricultural tasks. ..).
There is currently no clear scientific explanation for the mechanism underlying this compensation phenomenon, especially since it is not observed in all cash. ” We also need to assess whether there is a cost in reducing basal metabolism, for example by a immune system weakened or slower recovery from injuries, and thus calculate the point at which exercise makes achieve a detrimental level », Add the authors.
Diet: the new equation for better weight loss
Article by Jaloux Chaput published on 02/23/2012
Losing weight would be twice as hard as what is recommended in national programs. But don’t panic, the American researchers behind this announcement are proposing a software online which allows you to set more realistic and therefore less demotivating goals. To be taken with precaution in spite of everything.
To succeed a diet, it takes a lot of goodwill. But when we follow the recommendations to the letter, it happens that we do not lose all the extra pounds desired. Lack of convincing results sometimes leads people to abandon their efforts.
During the annual congress of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, American researchers from National Institute of Health explained the reason for this failure. According to them, the official recommendations of the health authorities of the United States are too simplistic and the patients who follow them do not lose half the weight which was promised to them a year after starting the diet.
These instructions explain that for a reduced consumption of 500 calories per day, an individual loses about 450g per week. If this can be true in the early stages of a diet, it is however to disregard the fact that the body adapts to this food deprivation and responds by reducing its metabolic activity. The patient therefore reaches a plateau from which he can no longer descend.
Software that says how to diet
Faced with this problem, scientists propose a solution, through an online software, the body weight simulator, which calculates the efforts that will have to be made to achieve its ambitions. By setting more realistic goals, they hope to inspire people in overweight to no longer be demoralized and to continue the efforts to the end.
During the congress, the researchers explained that according to their model, to lose 4.5 kilos over three years, it will be necessary to reduce its daily ration of 100 calories. At this rate, it will take a year to complete half of the contract, and two more years to achieve the end goal.
The software will be available to US patients and general practitioners. It can be used by setting custom programs to waste weight at the pace desired by the person.
This tool not only aims to redefine calorie rations, but also focuses on spending by thephysical activity. Kevin Hall, who oversaw the research, says it is a ” a good way to realize how long it takes to lose weight, and what changes in diet and exercise are needed to achieve a healthy fitness weight and stay there “.
An equation with a thousand unknowns
However, you have to be very wary of this kind of program. An official from the United States Department of Health said: “ we do not give specific recommendations on the amount to ingest during a diet since it is different for each person. Anyone who wants specific advice should speak to a healthcare professional “.
It should be borne in mind that theobesity is a equation with a thousand unknowns, dependent on a large number of factors, among which dozens or even hundreds of Genoa, diet or sedentary lifestyle. This software cannot manage all of these individual settings. This may not prevent her from having satisfactory overall results, but for now, the best solution when you want to lose weight is to go to a specialist.
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