Myth Busting: Exercise Can't Help With Obesity, Only Cutting Carbs Can

Suggesting a u-turn of perspective on obesity, a team of international health experts has suggested exercise has little to obesity than food.

In an editorial published in British Journal of Sports Medicine, a team of three experts wrote that physical activity does not promote weight loss and obese people should focus on diet and eliminate carbohydrate and sugar-rich foods. They blamed the food industry for promoting unhealthy food and likened them to the efforts of the big tobacco industry.

"A recent report from the UK's Academy of Medical Royal Colleges described 'the miracle cure' of performing 30 min of moderate exercise, five times a week, as more powerful than many drugs administered for chronic disease prevention and management. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers by at least 30%. However, physical activity does not promote weight loss," researchers wrote.

They added that for every additional 150 sugar calories on the plate, the risk of diabetes goes 11-fold.

"Up to 40% of those with a normal body mass index will harbor metabolic abnormalities typically associated with obesity," they wrote in the article titled 'It is time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity: you cannot outrun a bad diet.'