Weight Training And Abdominal Obesity

The Study
Waist circumference and physical activity were measured in 10,500 men from the Health Professional Follow-up Study in 1996 and 2008. The goal was to see which activities caused the greatest reduction in abdominal fat over the 12 year study period. In a somewhat surprising finding, resistance training had the strongest association with lower abdominal fat. Adding 20 minutes per day of weight training resulted in a .67 cm reduction in weight circumference. Adding 20 minutes per day of cardiovascular exercise resulted in a .33 cm reduction in waist circumference. The authors believed that the metabolic boost from weight training was the likely reason for the difference. Obesity 2014 doi:10.1002/oby.20949

Take Home Message

Resistance training is often completely ignored by those trying to lose weight. This is a real shame, because there is no better way to increase your metabolism, and therefore, the number of calories you burn each day.

In this investigation, resistance training resulted in twice the reduction in waist circumference over 12 years when compared to cardiovascular exercise. Does this mean that you should you stop doing your cardio and focus just on the weights? Absolutely not! The combination of cardio, weight lifting, and the right diet are pivotal to improving your health and losing weight. This study just highlights the importance of including resistance training in your program.