Exercise and Weight Regulation; Benefits of Exercise over Diet

When you are exercising, you use up more energy than when you are resting. During a fast walk, for example, you use four times as much energy/minute as you do when resting. If you take an hour's fast walk each day, you will use 260 kcal more than without any exercise, or 17 % more kcal than without any exercise. More .

Experiments with rats show that the rats who exercise at least an hour every day, have less risk of becoming overweight. However, it does not seem as the calories used during the exercise were most important. Instead, the natural mechanisms for regulating food and nutritional need works better with moderately and regularly exercising. The rats needed one hour of exercise per day, in order to make the normal weight control mechanisms of their body work.

Exercise also stimulates the production of beta-endorphins in the body. Beta-endorphins are substances produced by the body, which have similar effect as morphine. Because of this, exercise can reduce the need for alcohol, narcotics and overeating, since also these abuses stimulate the same pleasure centers as morphine and beta-endorphins. More.

Moderate exercising will also reduce the risk for a number of other diseases More. What about very much and extensive exercise? This is controversial. Some experts see extensive exercise as an abuse similar to substance abuse, since also when you exercise, you stimulate the production of beta-endorphins. However, experts do not agree on how much exercise is healthy, and where the limit is in terms of an unhealthy dependence on exercise.

Our recommendation to people with eating disorders is to exercise at least 30-60 minutes a day by walking, cycling, swimming, physical training, etc., in order to get the normal weight control to work better.