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A shocking new study says it’s time to “bust the myth” that regular exercise actually leads to weight loss.
The team of British cardiologists backing the editorial, which has been published in the May edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests that exercise just doesn’t cancel out a terrible diet.
Although exercise still promotes a number a health benefits—like reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia—weight loss isn’t one of them, the study’s authors say.
According to the World Health Organization, worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, with roughly 600 million people classified as obese.
It’s clear that the authors of this study believe the obesity epidemic has been caused by the food industry, which outwardly tries to push the blame onto the public’s lack of exercise.
In fact, the authors say the public is "drowned by an unhelpful message" by the food industry that obesity stems from an overall unwillingness to hit the gym.
They even go as far as accusing the food industry of employing scare tactics that are “chillingly similar” to the same ones big tobacco companies tried to use when they first learned of the links between smoking and lung cancer.
"The tobacco industry successfully stalled government intervention for 50 years," the study’s authors write. "This sabotage was achieved using a ‘corporate playbook’ of denial, doubt, confusing the public and even buying the loyalty of bent scientists, at the cost of millions of lives."
They go on to blame the food industry for focusing on simple calorie counting alone, even though it’s the source of those calories that truly matters.
Many health experts agree that calories from fat actually make a person feel full, while the same amount of calories from sugar cause people to feel hungrier and promote the storage of fat.
In the editorial, the authors point to a study in the academic journal Nutrition that suggests the most effective diet to combat obesity requires the simple restriction of carbohydrates.
The scathing editorial directly calls out the British government for failing to put a tax on sugary drinks and allowing them to be sold at gyms.
They say that the association between "junk food and sport, must end," criticizing the food industry for advertising junk food as a way to promote better physical performance.
In a statement emailed to Mashable, Britain's Food and Drink Federation immediately dismissed the comparisons with the tobacco industry, calling them "absurd and offensive."
“Britain’s food and drink manufacturers are proud of their long track record of working to help improve UK diets and promote healthier lifestyles. But they’re not complacent, recognising the scale of the obesity challenge in the UK," the statement says.
Do you agree with the authors of this study? Tell us in the comments!
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