Managing Cardiometabolic Risk

Is exercise or diet better at reducing intra-abdominal fat?

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The ability of diet to induce a marked caloric deficit, combined with the ability of exercise to maintain muscle mass and readily mobilize fat from the intra-abdominal depot, likely provides the best of both worlds (40, 41). Data from the National Weight Control Registry suggests that individuals who are most successful at attaining and maintaining significant weight loss are likely to use a combination of diet and exercise to achieve their goal (42). Additionally, during weight loss interventions, physical exercise has been shown to improve cardiorespiratory fitness (17, 18), which would be expected to further reduce risk of morbidity and mortality independent of changes in weight and intra-abdominal fat (43, 44). The combination of diet and exercise is therefore the ideal strategy for losing weight and reducing intra-abdominal fat.

Reference

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17. Ross R, Dagnone D, Jones PJ, et al. Reduction in obesity and related comorbid conditions after diet-induced weight loss or exercise-induced weight loss in men. A randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med 2000; 133: 92-103.

18. Ross R, Janssen I, Dawson J, et al. Exercise-induced reduction in obesity and insulin resistance in women: a randomized controlled trial. Obes Res 2004; 12: 789-98.

40. Ross R, Pedwell H and Rissanen J. Effects of energy restriction and exercise on skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in women as measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Clin Nutr 1995; 61: 1179-85.

41. Ross R, Rissanen J, Pedwell H, et al. Influence of diet and exercise on skeletal muscle and visceral adipose tissue in men. J Appl Physiol 1996; 81: 2445-55.

42. Klem ML, Wing RR, McGuire MT, et al. A descriptive study of individuals successful at long-term maintenance of substantial weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr 1997; 66: 239-46.

43. Wei M, Kampert JB, Barlow CE, et al. Relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality in normal-weight, overweight, and obese men. JAMA 1999; 282: 1547-53.

44. Lee S, Kuk JL, Katzmarzyk PT, et al. Cardiorespiratory fitness attenuates metabolic risk independent of abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat in men. Diabetes Care 2005; 28: 895-901.

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