Weight Loss Tips: Diet More Important Than Exercise, Says Expert

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For years, the debate on whether diet or exercise or a combination of both is the best option for losing weight has been discussed by health authorities, scientists, and fitness buffs alike. Yahoo! News reports that according to one scientist, however, it's diet that plays a larger part in losing weight.

Professor of exercise at the University of Texas, Philip Stanforth said, "Studies tend to show that in terms of weight loss, diet plays a much bigger role than exercise. But when you look at people who've lost weight and are also managing to keep it off, exercise is important."

Stanforth claims that exercise requires time and consistent effort, which results can be seen over time. However, if people take a closer look at the foods they consume and consciously cut out high-sugar, high-fat, and high-calorie foods, people would notice a big change over a shorter period of time, too.

"You'd have to walk 35 miles to burn 3,500 calories. That's a lot of walking," Stanforth explained. " But if you look at eating, a Snickers bar might have, say, 500 calories. It's going to be a lot easier to cut the Snickers bar than to do 5 miles of walking every day."

Business Insider reports that according to Stanforth, studies also reflect the major role that diet plays in the weight loss process. He said, "There was a recent study on this in a large group of people who'd lost weight. And when you looked at the people who were able to keep it off, something like over 90% of those people exercised regularly."

This doesn't mean that cutting out exercise completely will do the trick. Stanforth said, "What all this research is showing, we think, is that there's something about exercising that helps with weight loss and keeping it off."

Exercise has been proven to bring a number of health benefits, including a better mood, and protection against stress, depression, and anxiety. And speaking of emotions, Cynthia Sass writes on ABC News that another important factor to take into consideration in the weight loss process is one's emotional state. According to a survey commissioned by healthcare network Orlando Health, 90% of participants discounted the psychological relationship between food and exercise. Moreover, 60% of the respondents said that diet and exercise were the biggest barriers to weight loss.

According to Sass, "focus on your feelings first, not your diet and exercise plan." She adds that the four major emotions that often affect one's food choices are happiness, sadness, anger, and fear—coincidentally, four out of the five emotions in the film "Inside Out".

Happiness or joy may cause people to have a celebratory meal in which they overeat while sadness or depression may also cause overeating. Aggression is sometimes addressed with cravings for crunchy or chewy food while fear may induce feelings of needing to nibble on something. Cass suggests addressing these emotions to curb emotional eating.