Exercise is a physical activity carried out to maintain and improve body health. There are many types of exercise that we can do, from mild exercise such as relaxing walking, yoga, gymnastics, cycling to strenuous ones like weightlifting. Besides being able to help burn calories and maintain ideal body weight, exercise can also improve body metabolism.

Any type of exercise can help you in maintaining overall body health. However, when talking about what kind of exercise is the best one to avoid obesity, jogging is the answer. In a recent study published in the PLOS Genetics journal, Chinese researchers found that jogging is the best exercise to avoid obesity.

In their report, the researchers explained that jogging can keep your heart rate at a low level, which is considered a fat burning zone. It means that the body uses fat as a fuel source to maintain the heart rate rhythm. Meanwhile, if someone does physical activity with resistance and high speed, the heart rate will also increase. In this condition, the body will use glycogen or sugar as a fuel source. Therefore, physical activity with low intensity is more effective in burning calories.

The results were obtained after the researchers conducted a routine analysis of physical activity on 18,424 adult Han Chinese with an age range of 30-70 years. The results obtained are compared with the genetics of each individual. In addition, to find out what type of exercise is most effective in preventing obesity, the researchers also measured body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and waist-hip ratio. There are 5 types of mild exercise compared, namely jogging, biking, swimming, dancing, and yoga.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pixabay

Source(s):

• Wan-Yu, L., Chang-Chuan, C., Albert, Y.C., et al (2019). Performing different kinds of physical exercise differentially attenuates the genetic effects on obesity measures: Evidence from 18., 424 Taiwan Biobank participants. PLOS Genetics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008277.
• Healthline - Researchers Find Jogging May Be the Best Workout to Avoid Weight Gain (2019). https://www.healthline.com/health-news/the-5-best-ways-to-workout-for-weightloss, 13 August 2019.