Worried about your waistline? Exercise might not help shed the kilos

'Why can't I just wake up looking like a swimsuit model?' TV personality Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu, who has documented her vigorous training and weight loss on Instagram, seems to be asking the same question as everyone else.

Now, to the possible delight of couch potatoes, a new study says exercise may not be the key to controlling weight.

The study was led by Loyola University Chicago and focused on South Africa, Ghana, the Seychelles, the US and Jamaica.

The participants — all between 25 and 40 and mainly of African descent — were weighed and tracked over time.

"Our study results indicate that physical activity may not protect you from gaining weight," said lead author Lara Dugas, who obtained a PhD in exercise physiology at the University of Cape Town.

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She and fellow researchers say physical activity is still hugely important: it reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and improves mental health and mood.

"People who are physically active tend to be healthier and live longer. But while physical activity burns calories, it also increases appetite, and people may compensate by eating more or by being less active the rest of the day," they said.

Being sedentary, on the other hand, had no impact on weight gain or weight loss.

"This makes total sense to me in light of my own experience," said a Cape Town mother who asked not to be identified.

She lost 22kg in a year by drastically reducing her food portions, and having a late breakfast to allow ketosis to set in.

"When you haven't eaten for several hours, and you're not taking in a lot of carbs, your body burns fat, and that is ketosis," said the woman, a sales consultant.

"I used to be a keen runner and it felt fantastic. But I certainly didn't lose weight from it. In my life now, as a very busy working mother, I don't have time for exercise and I miss that feeling, but it has had no effect on my attempt to lose weight. I would agree that it is all about what you put in your mouth."

The Loyola research reflects increasing concern about obesity, a problem in many countries, including South Africa.

Locals who have won their battle with the bulge — some with more exercise than others - include ANC MP Pule Mabe, EFF leader Julius Malema, actress Sophie Ndaba, rapper Cassper Nyovest and Idols South Africa judge Unathi Msengana.

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According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa, "South Africa has the highest overweight and obesity rate" in the region. Up to 70% of women and a third of men are classified as overweight or obese.

But not everyone is convinced by the Loyola study. Cape Town Peninsula University of Technology design lecturer Zwelibanzi Damba swears by the exercise-diet routine that has helped him lose nearly 30kg since 2014.

"Change in diet is major in weight loss, but for me exercise has been crucial too," he said.

"I did body-weight exercises at home  —  morning and evening at first. I then got into running about 6km three times a week on top of cutting out sugar and eating less than I used to.

"In 2014 I weighed 125kg, then 110kg in 2015 and 96kg now. I am still training and eating well but I am not as strict as I used to be."

Geoff Staz, a physical trainer from South Africa now working in New York, cautioned would-be couch potatoes against getting the wrong message from the study.

"Training in conjunction with good nutrition leads to weight loss every time. The saying 'You can't out-train a bad diet' is 100% true. But the notion that training doesn't help with weight loss is absolutely false," he said.

Lean muscle, achieved only through training, increased the metabolism; on top of that, training made people happy. "Happiness is a flush of serotonin, and that has a huge effect on fighting cortisol, the fat that sits on your belly and destroys organs," said Staz.

farbert@sundaytimes.co.za