DIET ALONE INEFFECTIVE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

All those who believed they could shed the extra few pounds by diet alone, they were sadly mistaken...

A study by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University demonstrates that there is a natural body mechanism which conserves energy in response to a reduction in calories.


Food is not always plentiful for humans and animals and the body seems to have developed a strategy for responding to these fluctuations.For example when the caloric intake is less, animals tend to reduce their activity levels.
Monkeys were studied. The monkeys were placed on a high-fat diet for several years. They were then returned to a lower-fat diet There was no weight loss at the end of a month.
However naturally occurring levels of physical activity for the animals began to diminish soon after the reduced-calorie diet began.
A comparison group of three monkeys fed a normal monkey diet and was trained to exercise for one hour daily. This group did lose weight.