Have you tried to lose weight or are you trying to lose weight? Several scientific studies have already been done regarding the behavior of the human body during this process. Here are five science findings related to weight loss. scientific discoveries about weight loss.
5 Best Scientific Discoveries about Weight Loss
Does physical activity lose more weight than dieting?
An analysis of 60 scientific studies carried out by Vox Media concluded that dieting has a greater impact on weight reduction than physical activity. Although exercises have a positive impact on improving human health, they represent a small amount of energy consumed throughout the day by a person who is not a professional athlete. Basal caloric consumption, the energy consumed by the body to stay in operation, represents the largest of a person’s energy expenditure. Therefore, reducing the consumption of caloric foods has a greater impact on weight reduction.
The survey cites the example of a 90.7 kg man who ran an hour a day, four times a week for a month and managed to lose a maximum of 2.2 kg. The result would be better if there was a reduction in food consumption in the same period combined with exercise.
Where does the fat go?
By Lavoisier’s law of mass conservation, nothing is lost, everything is transformed. The principle also applies to weight loss. According to a study by the University of New South Wales, Australia, much of the fat loss in a diet or during physical activity is exhaled on the breath. scientific discoveries about weight loss.
According to the researchers’ tests, 84% of triglycerides – which make up fat – turned into carbon dioxide, while 16% turned into water in a process of weight reduction.
Who loses weight is more hungry afterward?
Science says yes. A study by researchers from Universities in Norway and Denmark analyzed the feeling of hunger and satisfaction and found that changes in the body chemistry of people who lost weight two years earlier can cause hunger to rise.
The satisfaction-linked hormone called the YY peptide has remained stable since the fourth week of diet and exercise. However, after one year from the beginning of the experiment, the levels of ghrelin, known as the hunger hormone, had a consistent increase and remained so for another twelve months.
The study, therefore, indicates one of the reasons for the so-called concertina effect in people trying to lose weight. Further studies are needed to assess the reasons why hormones exhibited this behavior. scientific discoveries about weight loss.
How to maintain weight loss after the diet?
This is possible, yes. According to an analysis of 20 studies involving more than 3,000 people, high-protein diets and heavy meals replaced by light, low-calorie meals, showed better results than physical exercise to maintain weight. The analysis was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2014.
Physical activity can cause compensatory behavior, which leads people to eat more because they practiced some exercise. Other than that, after a morning run, people tend to move less throughout the day for the same reason.
However, other studies link the maintenance of lost weight with a regulated diet and regular exercise. scientific discoveries about weight loss.
Is stress linked to weight gain or loss?
Researchers at University College London have linked stress to weight gain in 2,500 people (men and women) over 54 years of age. Analyzing the levels of cortisol, the hormone released in times of stress.
“We found that the level of cortisol in hair is positively and significantly correlated with the highest waist circumference and the highest body mass index,” said Sarah Jackson, associate researcher at the Institute of Epidemiology and Health at University College London, according to CNN. With that, the researchers associated a high level of stress with obesity.
Cortisol helps to regulate the blood sugar level and also to release energy for emergency reactions in stressful situations. The possible cause of stress-related weight gain or reduction is the fact that cortisol is released from visceral fat tissue, which surrounds the organs.
