Yesterday I learnt  from an article published by Daily Mail that exercise doesn't promote weight loss. What's more, it can make you pile on the pounds. 

As I have very strong opinions in terms of exercise, fitness and healthy lifestyle, I decided to bring up a few points that challenge a few statements presented by the author.

Firstly, I really struggle to see any more reasons behind writing this piece other than to confuse the public and to gain more readers intrigued by a debatable title. With the added controversy and the general nation's "painful necessity" attitude to exercising, it's no wonder this article may be climbing up the popularity ladder. Have the editors considered the potentially detrimental impact of  this article on the readers? As far as I know there is a fast growing problem of obesity in the UK with 64% of people being classed as overweight. Just that alone may indicate bringing exercise as the one of the reasons that make people pile on pounds may not be a good idea. And even if the author, Claire Coleman mentions, quoting the British Journal of Sports Medicine, that physical activity is useful in reducing the risk of disease, the overall message is clear - starting a workout regime makes you fatter. 

Secondly,the article contradicts itself by listing the reasons of why exercise doesn't shed pounds off people. That's simply because those reasons aren't referring to physical activity as such. They do in fact refer to the lifestyle preferences, for instance food and drink choice or behavioural and emotional factors (reward after hard work). Of course a recent  study from Arizona State University will show a weight gain in 81 obese women leading a sedentary lifestyle after embarking on a 12 week workout programme. They weren't studying the effects of exercise, they were studying behavioural reactions of an unfit mind.  One paragraph in particular has put me under a  huge, stress hormones releasing disagreement. It may be right stating high intensity exercise can trigger stress hormone production, but to claim it promotes weight gain from fat build up around the middle is misleading, and far fetched. Yes, cortisol does have a negative effect on a metabolism, it does make you lose lean muscle mass but again, it's the levels of certain chemical in a human body we are talking about, not the exercise itself. As a matter of fact, exercise utilises cortisol to fuel up another process, the endorphins production - powerful happiness hormones. But the balance between the two, is most certainly a more complex matter and under no circumstances should exercise be blamed for higher levels of the bad hormone.