Exercise, Even Without Weight Loss, Cuts Risk.

• Position: Brief Article

A study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., indicates that moderate exercise alone can improve cholesterol levels and reduce the percentage of body fat in moderately obese people, even if the exercise program does not lead to weight loss. The results of their pilot study are the first to demonstrate that exercise alone--independent of weight loss or diet changes--can cut the risks of heart disease. This should provide encouragement to millions of overweight Americans, many of whom quit exercise programs because they failed to lose weight.

"We now have the data for physicians who can tell their patients they shouldn't focus so much on the scale," indicates cardiologist William Kraus, the study's leader. "These patients should not become discouraged and give up exercising, because our study shows that these patients are getting healthier even if they don't lose any weight."

Specifically, individuals saw an average decline in the so-called "bad" LDL cholesterol from 122 to 104, and an average increase in the "good" HDL cholesterol from 32 to 37. These changes were deemed to be statistically significant. In addition, patients saw a 4.3% decrease in body fat, which researchers say likely turned into muscle.

The patients' weight remained the same during the three-month study. In fact, if they started losing weight, researchers altered their diets to maintain a...