Energy balance
In nonobese middle-aged adults, achieving equivalent fat loss through either calorie restriction or exercise yields similar improvements in major coronary heart disease risk factors, including LDL-cholesterol, insulin resistance, and inflammation.
If you are overweight but not obese, you can improve your heart disease risk by either eating 20% less or exercising enough to burn 20% more calories daily. The key is losing fat; it doesn't matter much which method you use to get there, as long as you achieve the fat loss.
Data from the present study provide evidence that CR- and EX-induced negative energy balance result in substantial and similar improvements in the major risk factors for CHD in normal-weight and overweight middle-aged adults.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with good adherence, though limited by small sample size (n=48) and short duration (1 year).
Source
Calorie restriction or exercise: effects on coronary heart disease risk factors. A randomized, controlled trial
Luigi Fontana et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2007
DOI 10.1152/ajpendo.00102.2007
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