Bridging the Gap

In this new column, we will take a look at interesting scientific/medical articles from professional journals and explain them in easy-to-understand language. When we "bridge the gap," we find out how much great information is really known about being healthy, but never gets out into the "public sector."

In this edition of the Health Capsules, we focus on an article in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (vol.21, No. 1, 1989) entitled, "Exercise reverses de-pressed metabolic rate produced by severe caloric restriction." Essentially, the title means that "dieting" slows the body's metabolism, and that exercise can correct that problem.

One of the problems with "dieting" is that the body slows itself down excessively. If you're trying to lose weight, for example, this slowed metabolism actually causes you to store body fat. Most people who have dieted find that although there is some initial weight loss, the weight not only returns in time, but there is an addition of even more weight.

In this study, 500 calories-a-day diets slowed bodily processes down by 87%! This is a dramatic depression in body function. Using 1000 calorie diets, metabolism decreased by 24%. When one wishes to lose weight in the form of fat, the metabolism must be increased in order to accomplish this feat.

The most effective way to increase the metabolism and increase fat loss is through easy exercise. This study showed that with the addition of only minutes of daily exercise, a decreased metabolism was prevented. The subjects jogged, swam, or rode stationary bicycles at 00% of their maximum effort.

A final note regarding dieting: There are many important nutrients necessary for "burning off" that extra body fat. Too often restricting food intake results in missing out on some, or all, of those necessary nutrients