When Exercise Goes Away, Fat Comes to Stay

OK, let's figure out what's wrong with this picture: You come home from a long day's work, plop down on the couch, and spend the evening motionless save for the workout your fingers get flipping through stations with the remote. On a certain level, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the picture - you deserve to relax and recline after your daily labors. But if it becomes a nightly habit, you're probably not spending enough time on an important component of health and wellness: exercise.

Considerable evidence points to consistent physical activity as a means of preventing obesity and its related complications, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. The exact cause of obesity remains elusive in the vast majority of cases, although the results of this study from the Annals of Internal Medicine point to inadequate exercise as a culprit.

Researchers examined 970 healthy female twins and found that physical activity (or lack thereof) predicted total-body and central abdominal fat. These results were maintained when considering other potential contributors to obesity, such as age, diet, smoking, socioeconomic status, and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The authors also emphasized that these benefits were apparent even in subjects with a strong genetic preponderance toward obesity.

Your doctor of chiropractic can provide you with more information on the benefits of consistent exercise and outline and diet and fitness regimen suitable to your needs.

Reference: Samaras K, Kelly PJ, Chiano MN, et al. Genetic and environmental influences on total-body and central abdominal fat: the effect of physical activity in female twins. Annals of Internal Medicine, June 1999: Vol. 130, No. 11, pp873-82.

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