An hour of daily exercise lets middle-aged women eat the same but gain less weight.

A thirteen year study of 34,000 middle-age women in the Women's Health Study has found that over any three year period women who engaged in moderate exercise less than 420 minutes a week (or 60 minutes a day) were significantly more likely to gain five pounds while eating their usual diet. However, this worked only for women who had a body mass index lower than 25. Heavier women may need to restrict the calories they eat in addition to exercising regularly, if they want to control their weight.

PositiveTip: Make exercise a priority each day. The benefits are significant.