Weighing In: Is Diet or Exercise More Important?
“When it comes to slimming down, which one matters more?
Says Michel Olson, PhD, professor of phsycial eduation and exercise science at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama:
‘Yes, you can lose weight with diet alone, but exercise is an important component. Without it, only a portion of your weight loss is from fat — you’re also stripping away muscle and bone density. Since working out stimulates growth of those metabolic tissues, losing weight through exercise means you’re burning mostly fat.’
Says Shawn M. Talbott, PhD, nutritional biochemist and former director of the University of Utah Nutrition Clinic:
‘As a rule of thumb, weight loss is generally 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise. An analysis of more than 700 weight loss studies found that people see the biggest short-term results when they eat smart.'”
— From The Last Word on Exercise vs. Diet in Oprah Magazine, March 2014
