I saw this article online and it really dampen my spirit since swimming is my favorite sport and I am trying to loose weight at the same time. Any comment??
SWIMMING IS NOT GOOD FOR WEIGHT LOSS
If you want to lose weight, lower cholesterol, or help to control diabetes, swimming is better than nothing, but not that much better (1).
A recent report from the University of Colorado shows that obese people who start a supervised swimming program do not lower their fasting blood sugar, insulin, total cholesterol, good HDL cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol levels. They also did not lose weight or redistribute their body fat (2).
These results are different from people who start land-based sports such as running, aerobic dancing, racquetball and cycling. When you exercise on land, your body is surrounded by air which insulates you, causing your body to retain heat and your body temperature to rise for up to 18 hours after you finish exercising. Increased body temperature speeds up your metabolism and helps you to lose weight and lower cholesterol. On the other hand, when you swim, your body is surrounded by water which is an excellent conductor of heat away from your body, preventing your body temperature from rising. If you want to lose weight by swimming, the best way is to do it is by using a swimming machine on dry land.
I'm Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Fitness.
1) H Tanaka, DR Bassett, ET Howley. Effects of swim training on body weight, carbohydrate
I've seen it bandied about wuite often that we lose less weight in the water due to the water taking away the excess heat. I've also seen it used to explain why most folks heart rates don't get as high in the water. (I've seen other things too.)
But I haven't yet seen the link between the heat loss and weight loss tested.
This is a good example of this, the study showed no weight loss in subjects. That's all well and good but from out of nowhere here comes the idea that this is due to heat loads. Nothing else to back it up; it's just tacked on the end and left for us to accept.
I personally don't buy it.
I've seen it bandied about wuite often that we lose less weight in the water due to the water taking away the excess heat. I've also seen it used to explain why most folks heart rates don't get as high in the water. (I've seen other things too.)
But I haven't yet seen the link between the heat loss and weight loss tested.
This is a good example of this, the study showed no weight loss in subjects. That's all well and good but from out of nowhere here comes the idea that this is due to heat loads. Nothing else to back it up; it's just tacked on the end and left for us to accept.
I personally don't buy it.