Perpetuation of The Real Exercise Myth: An Absolute Crime in Public Health
Have you ever heard that adding fruits and vegetables to your diet will help you lose weight? Of course not! Anyone that can do math understands that if you eat an entire pizza and a cheese cake for dinner, adding an apple and some carrot sticks does not equal weight loss. However, this doesn’t mean that since fruits and vegetables alone are not a recipe for weight loss, that we should stop eating them all together! Sadly, a similar exercise-related misconception has been spreading like wildfire leaving a wake of confusion that is absolutely tragic.
The Exercise Myth
A recently published article entitled, “The science is in: exercise won’t help you lose much weight,” is yet another example of the so-called “Exercise Myth”. The author, like many others who have written similar articles, writes as if they are uncovering a shocking new finding in science, that exercise doesn’t actually help you lose much weight.
Truly, this is NOT new news in science. It is commonly understood that if you eat an excessive amount of calories, doing an hour walk or jog won’t be enough to off-set an over-consumption of calories. Let me be clear: exercise CAN help with SOME weight loss. However, from a weight management perspective, it’s most important to monitor eating habits [calories in]. So what’s the problem with the reporting of the “Exercise Myth”? The implicit message of the Exercise Myth is wherein lies the true crime.
The Real Exercise Myth
Health leaders and authors who communicate to the public that “exercise doesn’t help you lose much weight” have also perpetuated what I call The Real Exercise Myth.
The REAL Exercise Myth is that the prime purpose of exercise is for weight loss and weight management.
Instead, the benefits of exercise extend well beyond body weight regulation. Even if you don’t lose A SINGLE POUND, exercise still has profound benefits for our health and well-being. Research shows that exercise decreases risk for:
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• Type II diabetes
• Back pain
• Osteoporosis
• Cancer (colon, breast, endometrial)
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
In addition, exercise also provides positive health benefits such as improved:
• Aerobic and muscular fitness
• Emotional well-being
• Feelings of vitality/energy
• Sleep patterns
• Immune function
• Quality of life
• Social relationships
• Productivity
• Financial well-being
Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your health even if you don’t lose a single pound.
It’s a Problem
When people believe that exercise is primarily a weight loss tool, they set the stage for a series of events like compensatory behaviors and an expectancy violation that ultimately leads to drop out. Here’s how the story typically unfolds:
John starts exercising and is highly motivated because he believes that it will pay off in the form of weight loss. He finds exercising is hard work, it takes time, and sacrifice. When he is out to eat following an exercise bout, he overestimates the caloric expenditure from his run and overeats. This is called a compensatory behavior. For example, when offered a cookie, John replies, “Yes! I’ll take another; I just ran five miles! And I’ll eat his too, thank you!” Thus, he ends up eating more calories than he expended in his run, which results in a net weight gain that day.
John continues to run and weigh himself and sees that he hasn’t lost any weight. In fact, he’s gained a pound. He concludes, “Exercise does not work!” and he stops exercising.
Sadly, what the scale did not tell John was that his blood pressure went down, he improved his blood lipid profile, cardiac output, muscular strength and endurance, the list goes on…
Expectancy Violation
On average, 50% of people drop out of an exercise program in the first six months. When people expect that exercise will cause them to lose weight, they put forth the effort, and their expectations are not met, it severely deflates motivation to continue.
It’s a Crime
A belief that the prime purpose of exercise is for weight loss and weight management had an influence on the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans last year as physical inactivity [and poor diet] is the second leading behavioral cause of death [to smoking] in the United States. Leaders in health care that communicate that exercise is primarily for weigh loss play an active role in decreasing people’s motivation to do the single best thing to prevent chronic disease, increase life expectancy, and improve quality of life. Thus, it is a crime to perpetuate the belief that exercise is for weight loss.
Rebrand Exercise: For Health and Enjoyment
Living a physically active lifestyle is one of the most important things we can do for our health and well-being no matter our age, body weight, or shape.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
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References:
Ekkekakis, P., Zenko, Z., & Werstein, K. (2018). Exercise in Obesity From the Perspective of Hedonic Theory: A Call for Sweeping Change in Professional Practice Norms. In S. Razon & M. L. Applied Exercise Psychology. (5-14). New York: Routledge.
Lee, IM, Shiroma, EJ, Lobela, F, Puska, P, Blair, SN, & Katzmarzyk, PT. (2012). Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet, 380: 219-229.
Mokdad, AH, Marks JS, Stroup, DF, Gerberding, JL. Actual causes of death in the United States. JAMA, 291: 1238-1246.
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