Weight Loss & Diet Plans

Exercise Fights 'Hidden' Body Fat

Double-Sided Findings

On one hand, the study shows the high price of inactivity, states Slentz.

Then again, it also shows that people with some extra pounds and no exercise habits can change their ways and reap the rewards.

Modest exercisers logged the equivalent of 11 miles per week. They matched current recommendations from the CDC and American College of Sports Medicine, the researchers note.

Those who got the most exercise did the equivalent of jogging 17 miles weekly. "While this may seem like a lot of exercise, our previously sedentary and overweight subjects were quite capable of doing this amount," says Slentz.

Think Balance

"I don't believe that people in general have gotten lazier," says Slentz. "It's more that they are working too hard or are at their desks working on computers with fewer opportunities to exercise. The situation is out of balance."

The name of the game is regaining that balance by getting more exercise, the study shows.

Consult your doctor before starting a new exercise program.