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Should you join Weight Watchers or the gym?

Posted on Sep 19th 2008 9:30AM by Bev Sklar

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss

If you were an overweight woman and had to pick just one, would you prefer Weight Watchers or a gym membership to improve your health? The answer isn't exactly simple.

A recently published study using the Bod Pod, a sophisticated measure of body composition, found there are pros and cons of both programs. Here are highlights to consider:

Participants sticking with Weight Watchers for 12 weeks lost an average five percent of body weight (nine lbs), however body fat percentages did not improve at all because they lost more lean tissue than actual body fat.
Body composition is more important than what you weigh, stated the lead researcher -- losing lean tissue often slows metabolism.
The fitness center group hardly lost any weight, but they lost a bunch of abdominal fat around vital organs. Skinnier organ jeans likely lessen the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Most of the Weight Watchers folks stayed the course for 12 weeks, while many fitness center participants quit.

Considering it's important for good health to shed pounds and body fat, the best answer is don't pick one, join both! Personally, I dropped those last few post-pregnancy pounds on Weight Watchers, but I was hitting the gym at least twice between weekly weigh-ins.

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Tags: Bev Sklar, BevSklar, Bod Pod, BodPod, body composition, BodyComposition, Weight Watchers, WeightWatchers

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

the goddess anna 9-19-2008 @ 9:47AM

I'd rather join a gym than do WW. I have no desire to do meetings or even interact with other women - at the gym, I can keep to myself. Also, I'd rather raise my metabolism with exercise (which can also stave off depression), than lose a few pounds that I'd probably gain back in a few weeks anyway.

Malibu 9-19-2008 @ 11:59AM

I am a big fan of the combination as well. WW teaches you how to eat right and increase your activity level- I think they should teach the Weight Watchers approach in school! Eating well and exercising work- who knew??

And you can do WW online if you want- you never have to set foot in a meeting.