Eating healthy and exercising are inextricably linked when it comes to losing weight. But what if you want to maintain weight loss over the long term? A new study has found which of the two is more important for weight loss in the long run.

When it comes to losing weight, it is always very important to change your diet. Nutritional concepts such as keto , intermittent fasting or the Mediterranean diet , but also general trends such as clean eating, are the proof in the pudding. No pun intended.

But regular exercise is also important, because physical activity is another essential step in weight loss.

How important is the 80/20 rule?

Many people believe that the relevance of diet and exercise to weight loss is an 80/20 ratio. Accordingly, 80 percent can be attributed to diet and 20 percent to exercise.

And although this guideline may be correct if you want to lose a few pounds quickly, it does not provide any information about what is probably the most difficult task: maintaining the weight that you have lost and not gaining it again.

A study by the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, which appeared in the specialist journal Obesity, has shown whether the 80/20 rule still applies when declaring war on the yo-yo effect.

Physical fitness is more important to maintain weight

"The study addresses the difficult question of why so many people find it difficult to lose weight in the long term," explains Danielle Ostendorf in a statement from the university.

To do the study, the scientists examined the data from three different groups: The first included people who had already successfully lost weight (participants who had a reduced body weight of 13.6 kg (30 lbs) or more for more than a...Read More
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