Exercise helps if weight is regained

COLUMBIA, Mo., March 8 (UPI) -- Many who lose weight subsequently regain it, but U.S. researchers say exercise can maintain the health benefits of weight loss, such as lower blood pressure.

Tom R. Thomas, professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, and colleagues put overweight men and women on a diet and a supervised aerobic five-day-a-week exercise plan for 4-6 months.

After losing weight, participants were separated into two groups, one that exercised and one that didn't. The non-exercise group experienced rapid deterioration in weight-loss induced benefits. The exercise group maintained improvements in almost all measures, including oxygen consumption, blood pressure and glucose.

Exercise didn't maintain blood cholesterol and abdominal fat loss, the study said.

"Although many people are successful at losing weight through diet and exercise, the majority of them will relapse and regain the weight," Thomas said in a statement. "The findings support the recommendation to continue exercising after weight loss, even if weight is regained."

The study is published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.