Want to lose weight, then just don’t depend on dieting. Dieting is no solution for substantial weight loss as reduction in caloric intake is just not sufficient for your weight loss goal. A recent study at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has revealed that to achieve the ultimate target of substantial weight loss one must combine dieting with exercising.

Senior scientists at the OHSU and the professor of behavioral neuroscience and obstetrics & Gynecology, Jude Cameron, PhD stated that this study lays great stress on the fact thatdieting alone can not aid.

In losing weight and that just by reducing the caloric intake from food one can not reduce substantial body weight. The researchers studied 18 female rhesus macaque monkeys at the Oregon National Primate Research Center and fed them high fat diet for several years.

These monkeys were then put on a low fat diet having 30% reduced calories. Their activity levels were closely monitored by way of collar placed around their neck. The researchers said, “Surprisingly there was no significant weight loss at the end of the month.” But they noticed a significant change in the activity levels for these monkeys which was the result of a reduced caloric diet given to them.

The study also had a comparison group of three monkeys who were fed the normal monkey diet and were given an hour on the treadmill. The study found that this group reduced a good amount of weight. Thus it was found that exercises are really important together withdieting if one has to achieve a substantial weight loss. The researchers concluded, “Exercise is necessary for weight loss to counteract decreased energy expenditure that naturally occurs from consuming fewer calories.”

 The study was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. Judy Cameron added that “diet and exercises must be combined to achieve the goal. There is a natural body mechanism which conserves energy in response to a reduction in calories.” The study further stated that food is not always enough for humans and animals and the body seems to have developed a strategy for responding to these fluctuations.

It can be safety concluded that there are two important dimensions of a weight loss program namely dieting and regular exercises and health professionals should advice for both to people with problems of overweight and this can even help to tackle childhood obesity.