Exercise and weight-loss

NEW YORK, July 24 (Praxis Press) Whether weight loss resulting from exercise or diet causes the same improvement in health is unclear. It is also unknown whether exercise without weight loss provides health benefits for people who are overweight. To compare the effects of diet-induced weight loss with those of exercise-induced weight loss, and the effects of an exercise program without weight loss in obese persons, Ross and colleagues studied 52 obese men. The study participants were randomly assigned to four groups: weight loss by diet, exercise intended to produce weight loss, exercise not designed to produce weight loss, or a control group. At the beginning of the study and after 12 weeks, the researchers measured various fitness and weight parameters. Men in both the diet and the exercise-weight loss programs lost an average of about 16 pounds. Weight did not change in the control group or in...