Hitting the gym is less healthy than people imagine: UK expert
08 Aug 2014
Contrary to the popular belief that exercise can help lose weight, an expert has claimed it can actually lead to weight gain.
''Exercise can actually lead to weight gain ... and nor does it improve mood,'' said Dr Michael Mosley of the UK, the brain behind the popular 5:2 diet and co-author of The Fast Diet.
He said a lot of people think that when they exercise, they can eat what they want - and that visiting the gym will make them happy, which is wrong.
He explained that exercise burns much fewer calories than people generally assume, suggesting that the secret to losing weight may be hidden in not consuming those calories in the first place.
''One pound (around half a kg) of fat is 3,500 calories - and fat is more energy-dense than dynamite - so to burn one pound of fat you would need to run about 38 miles (61.15km),'' Mosley was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.
''That is why people never lose weight by going to the gym in the long run,'' he noted.
According to Mosley, exercise is a good way to keep weight off - but it is not a good way to lose it.
