Weights Really do Bust the Xmas Tummy
Removing extra Christmas Kilos is easier if you do weight training rather than aerobic exercise, a new study has found. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found men who did 20 minutes of daily weight training had less age-related abdominal fat than men who spent the same time doing aerobic activities, but combining the two activities was even better.
Engaging in resistance training or ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise, helps to lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass.
The researchers studied the physical activity, waist circumference and body weight of 10,500 healthy US men aged 40 and over who had participated in the health professionals follow-up study between 1996 and 2008. They analysed which activities had the most effect on the men’s waistlines over 12 years.
Those who increased the time spent in weight training by 20 minutes a day had less gain in their waistline (-0.67cm) compared with men who similarly increased the time they spent on moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercises (-0.33cm) and work in the backyard or stair climbing (-0.16cm).
“This study underscores the importance of weight training in reducing abdominal obesity, especially among the elderly” said Frank Hu, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health and senior author of the study “To maintain a healthy weight and waistline, it is critical to incorporate weight training with aerobic exercise”
Ref: Jane Hansen, Sunday Telegraph 28th December 2014