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There are moments in medicine in which what everyone was absolutely certain was true is found to be not true, only partially true….or, one way or another, not the absolute truth.

This may be one of those moments.

Lack of physical activity has been named as a prime cause of the rising, alarming obesity epidemic here and around the globe.

Not according to this international study which compared Chicago women and Nigerian women—-although you may be sure that there will be heated debates and more studies.

The chief suspect now in obesity is the food intake itself, or rather the quality of it, assuming this one study’s findings hold up when repeated by others.

“Diet is a more likely explanation than physical activity expenditure for why Chicago women weigh more than Nigerian women, Luke said. She noted the Nigerian diet is high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat and animal protein. By contrast, the Chicago diet is 40 percent to 45 percent fat and high in processed foods.“(Emphasis added)

As the story notes, movement has many other benefits, one of which is feeling better generally. Any kind of activity generally is associated with lower stress levels, for example. This study should not be interpreted to mean one need not bother to find ways to be more active. U. S. government recommendations for desirable activity levels are listed in the last paragraph of this excerpt.

Stay tuned.

Science Daily

“A recent international study fails to support the common belief that the number of calories burned in physical activity is a key factor in rising rates of obesity.

“Researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds.”Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity.

“Decreased physical activity may not be the primary driver of the obesity epidemic,” said Loyola nutritionist Amy Luke, Ph.D., corresponding author of the study in the September 2008 issue of the journal Obesity. Luke is an associate professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. (Emphasis added)

“Physical activity is defined as anything that gets your body moving. U.S. government guidelines say that each week, adults need at least 2 ½ hours of moderate aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (such as jogging). Adults also should do muscle-strengthening activities, such as weight-lifting or sit-ups, at least twice a week.”

Source: Science Daily, January 9, 2009