All of us should already know this but when it comes to losing body fat, the most effective method to accomplish this is to combine eating a healthy diet along with regular exercise.

This news is from a recent study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism which helped identify several factors helping with weight loss and especially of visceral fat.  When individuals carry more visceral or abdominal fat than they should, this places them at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. 

This randomized trial had an aim to determine what was most effective for losing body fat when comparing exercise alone, diet alone, or exercise plus diet.    Over the course of four months, 40 overweight-to-obese untrained women, ages 25 to 40, were assigned to one of four groups.  The four groups were resistance training only (RT), diet only (DO), resistance training plus diet (RT+D), or a control group with no intervention. 

The women who were in either the RT or RT+D groups worked two to three time each week with a personal trainer teaching them the proper form for all the major muscle groups such as weighted squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows or leg extensions.

DXA scanning was used to measure body composition woman (fat mass, lean muscle mass, and visceral fat).  Also measured was their resting metabolic rate (RMR) which is the energy required or the amount of calories the body burns when at rest.  RMR usually contributes 10-15% of a person’s total daily calorie expenditure but in obese individuals and in women, it is lower.  When people restrict their calories while dieting, this can further lower their RMR making it harder for them to keep the weight off after dieting.

The women who were in either the DO or RT+D groups followed a diet high in protein (3.1 g per kg of lean body mass), moderate fat (20% of calories) and carbohydrates made up the rest of the calories. 

Out of the 40 women who originally enrolled for the study, 31 women actually completed the study.  What the researchers found was that there were reductions in fat mass for each of the three intervention groups.  But, the group with the greatest reduction was in the RT+D group.  The only group to see gains in lean muscle mass was in the RT group. 

The findings from this study suggest that the best way to mobilize fat loss is to combine an effective strategy of reducing calories in combination with exercise while at the same time preserving lean muscle mass.