Valid point. I’ve read that for sedentary people, starting an exercise regime is a poor way to lose weight. I still think it’s an excellent way not to gain weight in the first place...children who active, who remain active as teenagers and young adults (and don’t grossly overeat) probably won’t put on the weight in the first place. I did an energy-expenditure study that showed I burn nearly 3000 calories a day, mainly because I can maintain an ‘intense’ level of exercise for an hour or more, whereas someone who is unfit and overweight already probably can’t and so wouldn’t burn nearly as many calories. Muscle mass also burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, so that someone at a high level of fitness can eat more even on days when they don’t exercise.
The moral of the story: I’m going to put my kids in one physical activity after another (like my parents did with my siblings and myself) until they find one they can stick with, and I’m going to try to keep it a part of family life. After all, it takes far less willpower to maintain a lifelong habit than to start a new regime once you start putting on weight.
Valid point. I’ve read that for sedentary people, starting an exercise regime is a poor way to lose weight. I still think it’s an excellent way not to gain weight in the first place...children who active, who remain active as teenagers and young adults (and don’t grossly overeat) probably won’t put on the weight in the first place. I did an energy-expenditure study that showed I burn nearly 3000 calories a day, mainly because I can maintain an ‘intense’ level of exercise for an hour or more, whereas someone who is unfit and overweight already probably can’t and so wouldn’t burn nearly as many calories. Muscle mass also burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, so that someone at a high level of fitness can eat more even on days when they don’t exercise.
The moral of the story: I’m going to put my kids in one physical activity after another (like my parents did with my siblings and myself) until they find one they can stick with, and I’m going to try to keep it a part of family life. After all, it takes far less willpower to maintain a lifelong habit than to start a new regime once you start putting on weight.