Comment by frostwarrior

I'm starting to think that these kind of scientific studies, that focus on a single factor and rule every other variable aside, are not the best way to analyze weight loss.

Because following that logic, exercise supposedly does not work if you want to lose weight. But if every study around aerobic exercise arrives at that conclusion, why aren't the majority of athletes overweight? Where are the fat runners?

Is this a survivor bias? (Fat people even with great aerobic capacity end up hurting their joints so they stop running)

Is it because the addition of exercise generates other kind of changes in the body, like less insulin resistance, and overall more signals in the body to burn fat rather than store it?

Do runners spontaneously change their diets once they get used to their new lifestyle? Maybe the food they used to eat, both in amount and in composition, makes them uncomfortable so they start making lasting changes?

Yes, it does look like running a static amount every time has diminishing results. But, overall, people who run tend to be less overweight. And a lot of overweight people who start doing exercise and stick to it, tend to lose the weight, or at least they lose fat and gain muscle.