health and fitness: Exercise brings me friends, happiness and health. It’s not about losing weight

jeudi 23 avril 2015

Exercise brings me friends, happiness and health. It’s not about losing weight | Rachel Dixon

Doctors now say diet, rather than working out, promotes weight loss. But after gruelling boxing or calming yoga, the last thing I want is to stuff a burger into my face

I have exercised – a lot – all my life. At school, I was on every team: basketball, netball, hockey, football, athletics. When I moved to London in my early 20s, I took up korfball, swimming and the gym. Now I’m in my 30s, I box, do yoga and cycle. The only time I didn’t do any meaningful exercise was at university – and that was the only time I was fat.

Of course, that doesn’t prove anything. I also drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of takeaways at university. And according to a new report, it was that bad diet, rather than a lack of exercise, that made me put on weight. (The smart money is on it being a bit of both, of course, but a report recommending a healthy diet and a bit of exercise would hardly be newsworthy.)

Reducing the risk of heart disease or dementia is surely far more important than whether it helps you drop a dress size