A friend of mine believes in exercise and who until recently believed, that if one burnt calories through exercise, one could eat and drink anything. However, his struggle to get rid of his emerging middle-age belly hit a ‘dead end’. He then began to incorporate dietary suggestions in his regimen, which I advised. The diet helped him lose his belly. Today he is a convert—a die-hard believer in healthy eating and exercise.

Recently, an article published in Time, reported a study on exercise and weight loss. It suggests the clear edge of diet over exercise for weight loss. It further reinforces this point by suggesting that the growing epidemic of obesity has not been arrested despite mushrooming of gyms, fitness centres and increased levels of physical exercise among people. While this may be true, it must also be recognised that the number of diets have also grown correspondingly. Many unsuccessful chronic dieters are victims of such diets, they become permanently obese, afflicted by depression, poor self-esteem and plagued by health problems. The article does not discourage exercise, but highlights the importance of physical activity for general health, cognitive function and disease prevention.

When dealing with obesity, it is important to distinguish between metabolic obesity and simple obesity. Simple obesity is a result of an imbalance in the energy equation i.e. when the number of calories consumed are more than burnt. There are usually no significant underlying hormonal issues, but, when it goes untreated, it results in hormonal imbalances, including insulin resistance.

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