Energy balance
Exercise training reduces visceral adipose tissue (VAT) independently of total body weight loss, whereas hypocaloric diets reduce total body weight but show minimal change in VAT when weight loss is absent.
If your goal is to reduce dangerous belly fat (visceral adipose tissue), exercise is superior to diet alone when you aren't losing weight on the scale. Dieting reduces overall weight but may not specifically target visceral fat if you don't lose weight. Exercise reduces visceral fat significantly (6.1%) even if your total body weight stays the same, likely because it preserves muscle while burning fat. Stop using the scale as your only measure of success; use waist circumference or imaging if possible.
In the absence of weight loss, exercise is related to 6.1% decrease in VAT, whilst diet showed virtually no change (1.1%).
Why this rating
Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of 117 studies (n=4,815) using gold-standard imaging (CT/MRI).
Source
A systematic review and meta‐analysis on the effects of exercise training versus hypocaloric diet: distinct effects on body weight and visceral adipose tissue
Rebecca J. H. M. Verheggen et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2016
DOI 10.1111/obr.12406
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