Have a beer gut? Here’s one way to get rid of it: Start weight training.
According to a new study led by Harvard School researchers, men who did just 20 minutes of weight training everyday had less abdominal fat than men who spent an equal amount of time doing cardiovascular exercise.
However, researchers note that combining both weight training and aerobic exercise had the best effect–by cutting down abdominal fat while controlling weight gain.
The findings are published in the health journal Obesity.
“Because aging is associated with sarcopenia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass, relying on body weight alone is insufficient for the study of healthy aging,” says Rania Mekary, a Harvard School of Public Health Department of Nutrition researcher. “Measuring waist circumference is a better indicator of healthy body composition among older adults. Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass.”
In the study, Mekary examined three risk factors linked to poorer health outcomes in aging men: Body weight, waist circumference, and physical activity. Drawing data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, researchers narrowed down their search to 10,500 healthy men over age 40.
From here, researchers analyzed how their waistlines and physical activity changed over a period of 12 years–and found that the type of exercise they did mattered a lot. For those who weight trained just 20 minutes a day, their waist circumference was 0.67 cm smaller than the men who did not make physical activity a priority. On the other hand, aerobic activity, while being healthy for the heart, wasn’t great for their waistlines–their waist circumference decreased by only 0.33 cm.
Those who combined both weight training and aerobic activity benefited the most, however, something which researchers say reveals the importance of choosing the right workouts.
“This study underscores the importance of weight training in reducing abdominal obesity, especially among the elderly,” says senior author and researcher Frank Hu. “To maintain a healthy weight and waistline, it is critical to incorporate weight training with aerobic exercise.”
In conclusion, researchers say weight training matters–as far as your waistline is concerned.
“Among various activities, weight training had the strongest association with less WC [waist circumference] increase,” write researchers in the online version of Obesity. “Studies on frequency/volume of weight training and WC change are warranted.”
What This Means For You
Want to trim down that unsightly belly? Forget dieting; what matters more is the type of workouts you do. To get slimmer, researchers say weight training at least 20 minutes a day is your best bet, but don’t forget to also add in aerobic exercise to keep your weight low as well.
Readers: What type of exercises do you do to stay slim?
Sources:
Weight Training Appears Key to Controlling Belly Fat – ScienceDaily.com
Weight Training, Aerobic Physical Activities, and Long-Term Waist Circumference Change in Men – Wiley.com
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