Study: Diet and Exercise Go Better Together
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Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(STANFORD, Calif.) — If you’re trying to get your body back in shape, it turns out that diet and exercise are most powerful when they’re partners.
A Stanford University study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine looked at about 200 sedentary, middle-aged men and women. Divided into groups, some participants started dieting and exercisING at the same time. Other participants began their diet and exercise, one after the other, in different order.
After 12 months, those who began diet and exercise simultaneously improved in all areas, including:
- Exercising for at least 150 minutes per week.
- Eating five to nine servings of vegetables per day.
- Taking in 10 percent or less total saturated fat per day.
The other groups, however, did not do as well.
The authors also found that focusing on changing diet first may actually interfere with setting a consistent exercise routine.
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