Research

Mixed

Diet-induced weight loss reduces left ventricular mass (LVM) in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas adding moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (≥150 min/week) to diet-induced weight loss preserves LVM.

If you are overweight or obese, losing weight through diet alone will reduce your heart's muscle mass. However, if you combine that diet with at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week, your heart muscle mass is preserved. Both outcomes may be favorable, but preserving heart mass through exercise might be a beneficial adaptation alongside weight loss.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Weight loss through dietary modification resulted in reduced LVM, whereas, when combined with at least 150 min/wk of prescribed moderate- to-vigorous PA, LVM was preserved.
John M. Jakicic et al. · Obesity · 2022

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with a large sample size (n=383) and objective imaging outcomes (CMR), though follow-up is limited to 12 months.

Source

Impact of weight loss with diet or diet plus physical activity on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and cardiovascular disease risk factors: Heart Health Study randomized trial

John M. Jakicic et al. · Obesity · 2022

DOI 10.1002/oby.23412

rct · n=383Cited 21×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →