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To shrink your waistline, add weights. When most people think about losing weight, they imagine endless hours on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine. But new research has found that when it comes to losing the most dangerous pounds, weight lifting may be more helpful. “The study looked at 10,500 healthy American men age 40 and older. The researchers examined participants’ weight, physical activity and waist circumference to see how changes in the men’s activity levels over 12 years affected their waistlines. Men’s waist sizes tend to increase as they age, and the men in the study showed a 1.2-inch increase in their waists, on average. But the men who engaged in weight training for 20 minutes a day had a smaller increase than men who spent the same amount of time doing aerobic exercises, according to the study.” While the study took place only in men, the authors strongly suspect that results will be the same in women. They also note that you shouldn’t ditch your cardio routine. “Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass.”
