Walking is more effective in reducing weight than ball games

The two main principles of healthy weight loss are to control your diet and exercise more. Some people think: "I play basketball every Sunday, why am I not losing weight?" Experts say that although exercise is definitely better than no exercise, to really consume body fat, it is better to do cardiorespiratory endurance exercise that is not too high in intensity and can be done for a long time, such as brisk walking and cycling, which are far more effective than ball games.

Liu Zhenfang, president of the Obesity Research Society of the Republic of China and professor of the Department of Health and Nutrition at Taipei Medical University, pointed out that there are three major considerations for choosing weight loss exercises: whether you like the sport, whether you can do it regularly and continuously, and whether the exercise is of slightly lower intensity but can be done for a long time. Generally speaking, cardiorespiratory endurance exercises are more suitable for weight loss because they have a low entry threshold and can be completed independently.

From a theoretical point of view, cardiopulmonary endurance sports are easier to burn fat than ball games. Professor Liu Zhenfang said that when the human body is in a dynamic state, it will first consume glycogen in the muscles; the higher the intensity of exercise, the greater the glycogen consumption. Only when the exercise time is prolonged can the fat consumption be increased.

Take "walking", "brisk walking" and "fast running" as examples: when walking, the consumption of glycogen and fat is almost the same, but the overall fat consumption is very limited; when fast walking, because the exercise intensity is increased, the consumption of glycogen is slightly higher, but if the fast walking is continued for a long time, fat can be used as a source of continuous energy, so the overall fat consumption is relatively large; when it comes to fast running, the exercise intensity is high and the time is difficult to last long, then glycogen is completely used as an energy source.

Dr. Xiao Dunren, a hepatobiliary gastroenterologist specializing in obesity medicine, said that most obese people do not have the habit of exercising. If they are asked to suddenly become interested in playing ball, they may not have the physical strength to keep up, it will be difficult to cultivate interest, and they will have to find a ball partner. Therefore, cardiopulmonary endurance exercises such as walking, jogging, cycling, aerobic dance, etc. are better choices for weight loss exercises.

He pointed out that domestic physical education classes used to place too much emphasis on learning skills, but the current physical education curriculum in American middle schools has changed to emphasize improving cardiopulmonary endurance. Instead of comparing with each other to see who scores more goals, students compare themselves to see if they have better endurance. This is more conducive to cultivating students' habit of regular exercise and reducing the risk of becoming obese.