{
  "id": 2588019,
  "title": "Exercise may work better for keeping weight off than losing it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/exercise-may-work-better-for-keeping-weight-off-than-losing-it",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-22T13:55:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ScienceDaily Health",
    "slug": "sciencedaily-health",
    "url": "https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012240.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The conventional wisdom surrounding weight loss is relatively simple: consuming fewer calories than expended leads to weight loss. However, in practice, this is often easier said than done. Many individuals attempting to shed pounds incorporate exercise into their routine, believing it will expedite the process. Yet, research suggests that exercise alone may only yield modest results in weight loss. It is crucial, though, to recognize that exercise continues to play a vital role in overall health, particularly in maintaining weight loss after achieving the desired weight.\n\nSeveral factors contribute to the limited impact of exercise on weight loss. Exercise can heighten appetite, leading to increased food consumption. Additionally, individuals may unconsciously reduce their physical activity levels throughout the day following a workout, diminishing the exercise's impact on their overall calorie deficit. Furthermore, the body becomes more efficient over time, burning fewer calories during the same activities—a phenomenon known as \"metabolic adaptation.\" This tendency to conserve energy during intense physical activity was an evolutionary strategy to prevent starvation. However, in modern times, metabolic adaptation is just one of many factors that can complicate weight loss.\n\nWhile exercise may not be the primary factor in weight loss, it may contribute to maintaining the weight loss. A study involving over 1,100 participants found that physical activity had a minimal effect on the initial weight loss experienced. Nevertheless, engaging in higher levels of activity after losing weight was strongly associated with maintaining the achieved weight loss. Remarkably, exercise has also been linked to numerous health improvements, such as improved cholesterol levels, reduced inflammation, better blood sugar control, and enhanced insulin sensitivity—all of which lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. These health benefits emphasize the importance of incorporating exercise into both weight loss and weight maintenance phases.\n\nSurprisingly, the paradoxical effectiveness of exercise in maintaining but not necessarily losing weight is not fully understood. However, several mechanisms may shed light on this phenomenon. One explanation involves resting energy expenditure (the calories burned during inactivity). When weight is lost, an individual's resting energy expenditure decreases more significantly than expected for the amount of weight lost. Exercise can help mitigate this by increasing total daily energy expenditure. Furthermore, weight loss typically leads to the loss of both fat and muscle, with the latter lowering resting energy expenditure. Engaging in activities like resistance training (e.g., Pilates, weightlifting) can preserve or even build muscle mass, boosting metabolism and aiding in long-term weight maintenance.\n\nExercise also helps maintain the body's ability to burn fat. Post-weight loss, the body often becomes less efficient at utilizing fat for energy. However, intense exercise can enhance fat burning and metabolic flexibility—the body's ability to switch between burning carbohydrates and fat based on availability. This enables the body to continue burning fat even when calorie intake is reduced or weight loss has occurred. Exercise also improves insulin sensitivity, reducing insulin requirements for blood sugar regulation. Elevated insulin levels typically promote fat storage and decrease fat breakdown. Exercise offers additional indirect benefits, including improved sleep, mood, and reduced stress levels. These factors can lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone associated with increased fat storage, and help regulate appetite and blood glucose, potentially curbing cravings and overeating.\n\nIt is essential to acknowledge that individual responses to exercise vary, meaning that people may experience different calorie burn rates or increased hunger after workouts. Moreover, different types of exercise provide unique benefits for health and weight maintenance. Aerobic activities like brisk walking, cycling, or running burn calories and may boost the body's capacity to burn fat for fuel at higher intensities. In contrast, resistance training aids muscle mass development and preservation, supporting a higher resting energy expenditure for long-term weight maintenance. Ultimately, while exercise may not be the most potent tool for losing weight, it can contribute significantly to sustaining hard-earned weight loss. Perhaps most importantly, exercise offers an array of physical and mental health benefits that extend well beyond numerical changes on the scale.",
  "summary": "Exercise may not be a powerful weight-loss tool on its own, but it appears to play a much bigger role in preventing lost weight from returning. By preserving muscle, supporting metabolism, improving fat burning, and regulating appetite and blood sugar, regular activity can make long-term weight maintenance easier.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ScienceDaily",
        "title": "Exercise may work better for keeping weight off than losing it",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/exercise-may-work-better-for-keeping-weight-off-than-losing-it-2589892",
        "published": "2026-08-22T13:55:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}