Perplexed, Dr. Hall recently began to rethink the “biggest loser” study in the light of new concepts about how human metabolism basically works. This idea is influential to show that the very active hunter-gatherers in Tanzania consume about the same relative calorie counts daily as our other people, even though they are moving much more. Born from a 2012 study.
Scientists involved in the study said that the tribal body needs to automatically supplement some of the calories burned while looking for food by reducing other physiological activities such as growth. I assumed. (Tribes tended to be short.) Thus, researchers felt that the hunter’s body could reduce the total number of calories burned daily, no matter how many miles he jogged for tubers and games. I did. Scientists have called this idea a constrained total energy consumption theory.
Recognizing this study, Dr. Hall began to see potential similarities in the “biggest loser” results. So, for a new analysis, he looked back at his group’s data for hints on whether the athlete’s metabolism actually behaved like the hunter-gatherer’s metabolism. And he found clues to their resting metabolic rate. That number plummeted early in the filming of their “biggest loser,” he said, when they reduced their eating habits, and their bodies, of course, to avoid hunger. Reduced the calories burned.
However, in later years, when the athlete returned to the diet as before, his metabolism remained depressed. Because he made a conclusion — and this was important — most of them were still exercising. Contrary to intuition, he said in a new analysis that frequent physical activity seemed to encourage their bodies to keep their resting metabolic rate low, which could reduce their total daily energy expenditure. wrote.
“It’s still just a hypothesis,” said Dr. Hall. “But it seems to be what we are observing.” The “biggest loser” data is “an example of a constrained energy model.”
So what does it mean for the rest of us to rethink this “biggest loser” story if we want to lose weight? First, and most basically, sudden huge weight loss is common, as it seems that the strategy causes a more plunging resting metabolic rate than expected given the small size of people’s bodies. It suggests that it will backfire. He pointed out, as people gradually drop pounds in weight loss experiments, their metabolic changes tend to be less dramatic.
Second, and more annoyingly, if you lose a lot of weight, the “biggest loser” style is probably an ally in your efforts to keep those pounds away, Will be weakened. In a new interpretation of Dr. Hall’s athlete’s long-term weight management, frequent exercise kept the athlete’s resting metabolic rate low, but also helped stop fat recovery. In essence, the athlete with the most exercise, despite sports the slowest relative resting metabolism, will add the least weight.
