Diet is not the only factor that influences obesity, exercise is also essential . In fact, according to scientist Marcela González-Gross, author of the study ‘Sedentarism, active life and sport: impact on health and prevention of obesity’, these are two “inseparable” concepts.
Human physiology is prepared to take in much more energy than we really need to survive, which can lead to serious health problems from obesity and being overweight. Recently a study published in the scientific journal Circulation and entitled Energy balance and obesity already warned that food restriction alone is not effective in reducing extra kilos . Now the González-Gross analysis confirms this hypothesis.
The restriction in food produces the body’s natural adaptation to maintain its weight , altering the way the body burns calories. In this regard, the expert has ensured that the constant limitation of food is difficult to maintain in the long term, and that equating caloric intake with high energy expenditure would be more feasible for most people than only restricting food intake to compensate a low level of energy consumption.
That is why both concepts, energy consumption and intake, must be analyzed together. In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the general practice of at least 150 minutes of exercise a week in adults and up to 60 minutes a day in children and adolescents.
González-Gross is emphatic in this regard, “currently the entire scientific community considers physical exercise as one of the public health tools with the greatest potential to prevent overweight and obesity, since it contributes”.
