Adherence
Higher levels of physical activity at baseline are associated with greater use of specific dietary weight loss maintenance strategies, including lower fat intake, higher cognitive restraint, and more frequent use of behavioral tools like weighing oneself and keeping written food records.
If you exercise heavily, you may naturally or intentionally adopt stricter dietary habits like lower fat intake and higher cognitive restraint. If you exercise less, you might not need to be as strict with your diet to maintain weight, though you must still manage intake. Identify which lever (activity or diet) you prefer to pull.
Those with the highest PA at registry entry had lost the most weight, and reported lower fat intake, more dietary restraint, and greater reliance on several specific dietary strategies to maintain weight loss.
Why this rating
Large sample size, self-reported data, clear statistical trends.
Source
Dietary Habits and Weight Maintenance Success in High Versus Low Exercisers in the National Weight Control Registry
Victoria A. Catenacci et al. · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · 2014
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