Wasting time with weights? The best way to burn belly fat is through aerobic exercise



Breaking a sweat with weights in an effort for the perfect six pack might be a waste of time.

As a new study has found that the best way to burn belly fat is through aerobic exercise.



When researchers monitored people who did aerobics for eight months, compared to those who did just weight lifting, the former group lost almost 20 times as much fat around their stomachs.

Want abs of steel? A new study has showed that aerobic exercise is more beneficial for belly fat loss than weigh lifting

The aerobics group lost around 2.5 square inches of belly fat, and a group that combined both aerobic and weight lifting lost only 1.5 square inches.



HIGH PROTEIN DAIRY DIETS HELP TRIM BELLY FAT

A high protein, low carbohydrate diet has long been hailed as a successful weight-loss method, but a new study has found that protein-rich dairy foods can help aid this further.

Researchers found that those consuming higher-protein, high-dairy diets experienced more abdominal fat loss and the greatest amount of whole-body fat.

The study monitored three groups of obese and overweight pre-menopausal women – each group undertaking either a low, medium or high amount of dairy foods along with high or low amounts of protein and carbohydrates.

The women then took part in aerobic exercise five times a week and circuit weightlifting two days a week over a four month period.

Researchers found that the women on higher-protein, high dairy group lost the greatest amount of whole-body fat and belly fat.

The lead author of the study, Andrea Josse, from the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University, said: ‘100 per cent of the weight loss in the higher-protein, high-dairy group was fat.

‘And the participants gained muscle mass, which is a major change in body composition.

'The preservation or even gain of muscle is very important for maintaining metabolic rate and preventing weight regain, which can be a major problem for many seeking to lose weight.’ The study will be published in the Journal of Nutrition in September.



Researcher Cris Slentz at Duke University in North Carolina, USA, who undertook the study, said: ‘Resistance training is great for improving strength and increasing lean body mass.



‘But aerobic exercise is better for losing belly fat because it burns more calories.’

The study also concluded that those who combined weight lifting and aerobics didn’t see any further health benefits than those who only did aerobic, in terms of insulin resistance and liver fat, Live Science reported.



The researchers therefore found that aerobic exercise alone is more beneficial for obese and overweight individuals.



Researchers defined ‘belly fat’ as visceral fat, which is found deep in the stomach that surrounds the internal organs, as opposed to subcutaneous fat that is found underneath the skin.



Visceral fat poses more of a threat to health, as it lies closer to the organs and is associated with diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.



The study at Duke University, which will be published in the American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism, looked at 196 overweight, sedentary adults between the ages of 18 and 70, who were divided into the three exercise groups.



Mr Slentz added: ‘When it comes to increased health risks, where fat is deposited in the body is more important than how much fat you have.



‘What really counts is how much exercise you do, how many miles you walk and how many calories you burn.

