There are certain ideas that get batted around when you’re trying to lose weight. ‘Sex burns calories’ is one, and ‘Rapid weight loss will only come back one day’ is another, but before you go staking your wellbeing on these ‘facts’, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified several weight-gain myths that simply aren’t true.
The team debunked the commonly-believed myth that breast-feeding may reduce your child’s risk for obesity. The researchers said that although there are many wellness benefits of breast-feeding to both the baby and the mother, there is no evidence to suggest that preventing obesity is one of them. This is just one of seven old wives’ tales that have been identified by Dr. David Allison, associate dean for science in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and his team, that are not scientifically-backed by evidence.
According to the study, which was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, the idea that sex burns calories is, unfortunately, nothing more than a myth. Though it is said that sex is just like exercise, and can burn up to 300 calories, you would, in fact, be lucky to burn one-twentieth of that during sex, the researchers wrote. The team affirmed that sex only offers about the same calorie expenditure from sitting on a sofa, which means that, for example, a man in his 30s who weighs 154 pounds and has sex for 6 minutes will only burn 21 calories during intercourse.
The team of researchers also busted the myth that losing lots of weight rapidly might cause the weight to come back one day. Many people believe that slow, gradual weight loss will accumulate over time to produce longer-lasting changes, but the scientists discovered evidence that shows that even after several years, people who lose more weight rapidly are more likely to weigh less. This goes against often-told advice that you should set slow, realistic weight loss goals to avoid becoming frustrated with the results, as they study cited data that people may actually do better with more ambitious goals.
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