THE 7 LIFE CHANGING HABITS YOUR GP WISHES YOU'D ADOPT

FOR decades health experts have reported that it is our weight above all else that needs to be under control in order to maximise our health.

But a new team of experts has found that regular exercise is so powerful in improving our health and wellbeing that it could be better for us than losing weight.

Researchers who reviewed existing studies said that when examining the best way to get healthy and cut the risk of dying early, increasing exercise and improving fitness was more effective than shedding fat.

Numerous studies have shown how people around the world have been trying to lose weight over the past 40 years, and yet obesity has continued to rise.

Professor Glenn Gaesser, from the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University, and associate professor Siddhartha Angadi, say increasing exercise and making it a regular habit would cut the health risks associated with yo-yo dieting and nutritionial imbalances that can occur when people cut out food groups when they diet.

They said: “A weight-centric approach to obesity treatment and prevention has been largely ineffective.

“Repeated weight loss efforts may contribute to weight gain, and is undoubtedly associated with the high prevalence of weight cycling (yo-yo dieting), which is associated with significant health risks.

“Many obesity-related health conditions are more likely attributable to low physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness rather than obesity per se.”

The researchers said that adopting what they called a ‘weight-neutral approach’ did not mean weight loss should be ‘categorically discouraged’ but instead they believe their study shows that “shifting the focus away from weight loss as the primary goal and instead focusing on increasing physical activity to improve cardio-respiratory fitness may be better for treating obesity-related health conditions.”

Writing in the journal iScience, Professor Gaesser said: “Fat can be fit, and fit, healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes.

“In a weight-obsessed culture it may be challenging for programmes that are not focused on weight loss to gain traction.

“We’re not necessarily against weight loss – we just think it shouldn’t be the primary criterion for judging the success of a lifestyle intervention programme.”