Energy balance
Combining diet with exercise yields significantly greater long-term weight loss (approx. 1.14 kg) compared to diet alone in overweight or obese adults.
If you are trying to lose weight long-term, adding exercise to your diet will help you lose more weight than dieting alone. While the average extra loss is about 1.1 kg (2.5 lbs), this benefit persists even after 2 years. You do not need a specific type of exercise or diet; the combination itself is the key factor for superior outcomes compared to diet restriction alone.
The pooled weight loss was 1.14 kg (95% CI 0.21 to 2.07) or 0.50 kg m-2 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.79) greater for the diet-plus-exercise group than the diet-only group.
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials, though quality of individual trials varied (many lacked allocation concealment/blinding).
Source
Long‐term effectiveness of diet‐plus‐exercise interventions vs. diet‐only interventions for weight loss: a meta‐analysis
Ta‐Peng Wu et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2009
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2008.00547.x
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