Fallacy of just eating less and exercising more

The best strategy for kids to lose weight is easy — right? Just eat less and exercise more.

Logically this advice makes all kinds of sense but, in practice, it just doesn’t work.

For example, check out the results of a study with 1704 Native American children from 41 schools.

The participants in the study were split into two groups, with one group getting a better diet, more physical activity and classes about healthy eating and lifestyle. The surprising results? — after three years there was no difference in body fat between the two groups.

One of the authors of the study was quoted as saying, “We threw tens of millions of dollars at the best investigators in the world — and they found absolutely no effect.”

The reality is that a causal link between eating less/exercising more and obesity is hard to pin down. I’m sure you’ve heard at least some of the numerous theories for why the incidence of childhood obesity has increased (less PE in schools, more computer game playing, larger portions in restaurants, more TV watching, increased advertising of junk foods). The problem is that there’s no evidence that any of these reasons are valid.

We shouldn’t be telling kids to eat less and exercise more to lose weight — there just isn’t any evidence to show this works. And, in my opinion, such advice causes more harm than good.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of The Straight Scoop About Childhood Obesity