Updated July 20, 2006

Burning Fat Through Exercise

by Richard Weil, M.Ed., C.D.E.

Fat isn’t so bad if we manage it. We need it to survive, but we don’t need lots of it. The average person has more than enough stored fat on his or her body to sustain life for weeks. What we need to do is keep an eye on how much fat we eat (your dietitian can help you with that) and be physically active. No other intervention will do more to burn fat and improve your health than physical activity. Remember that you don’t have to do Herculean amounts of activity. If performed regularly and at a moderate intensity, just about any type of physical activity will help you burn fat, achieve good health, improve your diabetes control, and perhaps most important of all, improve the quality of your life. There’s no time like the present to get started. Results are just around the corner.

Richard Weil is an exercise physiologist and a consultant to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.

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