That's Diet AND Exercise

The upside of spending six hours in the Albuquerque airport every time I go St Louis is that I get to read a lot. Nothing like the torture of business travel to make one seek solace in the pages of a good book or even a USA Today.

My current infatuation with Alice Munro (she is the best writer in North America) was interrupted yesterday by an excellent article in USA Today on managing obesity. The news in this report was on the benefit of combining diet with exercise for more successful weight loss. I'd like to elaborate on that and add a pet specific component for today's post.

There is no better exercise partner in the world than your dog. Barring some physical impairment, your pooch will never call and cancel on you. They are ready to go rain or shine, warm or cold and they will benefit as much as you. And studies indicate that doing it together is more successful than going it alone.

Remember to take the precautions we discussed earlier when exercising with pets.

Now on to the interesting results.

According to a paper presented at the recent annual meeting of the Obesity Society, combining exercise and diet is much more effective than either alone. It's been conventional wisdom to include both, but now there is data to support that recommendation.

Apparently combining at least an hour a day of brisk walking to proper diet not only increases weight loss, but is key to keeping it off as well. 

While some women in the study were able to lose 5-7% of their weight by diet alone, those that added 50 minutes a day of exercise to proper diet were able to lose 10%, an average of 31 pounds, and keep it off for two or more years. That's pretty exciting news.

These folks were able to burn up to 2000 additional calories each week. And there were other benefits too. Exercise reduces stress, suppresses appetite, decreases available eating time and allows people to cheat a little on their diet. And that's really important over the course of time.

The diet research we did at Purina really brought that point home. People want to eat healthy. They don't want to deprive themselves and a little indulgence goes a long way in helping them sick it out to success.

So, if you could stand to  lose a little weight, as most of us can, and you have a willing canine partner at home, it's time to go for it. The results of this study should encourage us all to hit the pavement.