SUMMARY

Results vary in 12 week supervised exercise induced weight loss trials
with 35 obese and overweight subjects. "Compensatory Responses",
including eating more (working up an appetite?) were observed as some of
the reason for individual variations in weight loss response.

Reminds me of Mr. Banning's 1862 comments about exercise not reducing
weight but givng rise to a healthy appetite.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1101092802.htm

Weight Loss: Not One Size Fits All

ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2007) — There is no "one size fits all" when it
comes to weight loss through exercise, says Queensland University of
Technology behavioural scientist Neil King.

Dr Neil King, from QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation,
is the lead author of a study conducted in collaboration with the
University of Leeds in the UK, which has been published recently in the
International Journal of Obesity.

"When it comes to losing weight, a lot of people assume if you lose less
than the predicted weight then you aren't exercising enough, and that is
why you aren't getting the desired results," Dr King said.

"This study is the first evidence-based study that shows despite people
doing the same amount of supervised exercise people lose different
amounts of weight."

The study, which focused on 35 overweight and obese people from the UK,
sought to identify and characterise the variability in exercise-induced
weight loss.

Participants undertook a 12-week supervised exercise program that was
individually tailored to expend 500 calories per session. During this
time their weight loss and behavioural outcomes were monitored.

Dr King said the study found the role of exercise as an effective weight
management method could be undermined by "compensatory responses" such
as a person's increased hunger and food intake as a result of their
increased energy expenditure.

"People, who we refer to as compensators, are those who compensate for
the increase in exercise-induced energy expenditure, by adjusting their
food intake" he said.

"For some people this might be in responses to an automatic biological
drive, whereas for others it might be a deliberate reward-based increase."

Dr King said what this study showed was that some individuals were
predisposed to compensatory responses, rendering them resistant to the
theoretical weight loss benefits of exercise.

"The individual variability here demonstrates the need to treat people
as individuals," he said.

"It also highlights the importance of determining the mechanisms that
may explain this variability, such as how to treat the more resistant
compensatory person to improve their weight management outcomes.

"Those resistant to exercise might be better suited to weight management
strategies which include controlled dietary intake, in addition to
exercise."

Dr King said the novelty and therefore the strength of this study, was
that the exercise was supervised.

"Therefore, unlike unsupervised exercise interventions, any variability
in weight loss cannot be explained by differences in exercise
compliance," he said.

Adapted from materials provided by Queensland University of Technology.