Exercising Can Cause Weight Gain

Researchers monitored 81 healthy and overweight women who weren't physically active. The subjects hadn't been exercising regularly in the past year. They were asked to join aerobic class and not to change their diet or calorie intake.

At the laboratory, the women exercised on treadmills for 30 minutes a day, three times per week. The study continued for 12 weeks and the researchers kept monitoring the participants performance, calories burnt and their weight every month.

By the time they finished collecting data, all the women were more fit than they were in the beginning. But almost 70 percent of the women had gained some weight and not just muscle, but mostly fat. Some of them even gained almost 10 pounds of fat, The Times said.

Theoretically, if the calorie intake is stabilized and the amount of calories burnt is increased by exercise, an overall weight loss is expected. But this wasn't the outcome for the researchers who carried out the study.

After investigating the possible correlations of the phenomenon, researchers found out that participants who were losing weight into four weeks of the study were more likely to continue lose weight throughout the end. On the other hand, their fellow participants did not.

Dr Gaesser , a member of the research team that conducted the study, might have an explanation for the phenomenon. Gaesser thinks it is likely that women who gained weight during the study probably began eating more and moving less when they weren't on the treadmills, most likely unintentionally.

He explained how to overcome this phenomenon. He told The Times, "What that means in practical terms is that someone who wants to lose weight with exercise should step on the bathroom scale after a month. If at that point your weight remains stubbornly unchanged or has increased, look closely at your diet and other activities."