Hit the Weights to Lose Weight

Trying to lose weight? A new study has confirmed that you should start weight lifting, rather than spend all your time at the gym doing cardio. The study found weight training helps improve and control your metabolism.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that mice with more muscles lost fat and showed other signs of metabolic improvement throughout the body. The benefits were seen even though the mice were on a high fat and sugar diet and didn’t increase any other physical activity.

The researchers say type II muscle is what allows you to pick up heavy objects and it may also be key in weight loss. Researchers write, "These findings indicate that type II muscle has a previously unappreciated role in regulating whole-body metabolism through its ability to alter the metabolic properties of remote tissues. These data also suggest that strength training, in addition to the widely prescribed therapy of endurance training, may be of particular benefit to overweight individuals."

The study authors concluded that increasing muscle mass in humans may prove to be critical in the fight against obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and cancer.