It seems in life that nothing worthwhile comes easily! A newly published research paper underscores this fact in finding the higher the energy expenditure of overweight patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program, the greater the improvement in risk.
Typical protocols result in little weight loss for the more than 80% overweight patients who enter cardiac rehabilitation programs. Investigators designed exercise programs which increased energy expenditure by 615 kcal per day compared to the 269 kcal increase in the control group. At five months those in the high-calorie exercise expenditure group had lost more than twice as much weight, and their insulin resistance was significantly better.
PositiveTip: Even if you have not had a coronary event, but are overweight, exercising longer and more frequently will help you lose weight–and might lower your risk for a coronary!