Scientists: You can run as many marathons as you like but you’ll still be fat

18 Oct, 2015 by Rachel Alexander

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It’s becoming harder and harder to stay thin nowadays, but fortunately we’re starting to discover some of the reasons why. And we’re learning what techniques don’t work. Now, scientists have discovered that long distance running — something you think would have been the top fat burner of all — doesn’t work.

The Daily Mail explains why,

Many long-distance runners find that even when they are running more than 50 miles in a week their waistlines barely get smaller, with some actually gaining weight.

According to Harvard University’s lifestyle and nutrition researcher, Mary Kennedy, it is a particular problem for women.

‘I don’t mean this in any derogatory way, but marathoning has really become accessible for everyone, which is amazing and wonderful,’ she told the New York Magazine.

‘But just because you cross the finish line doesn’t mean you were running at a really vigorous pace seven days a week.

‘You’re so focused on going far, so you’re not necessarily doing a vigorous run.’

It is possible that the runners were burning fat and gaining muscle weight, but Ms Kennedy insists it is down to diet and appetite.

She believes many people are not burning the extra calories that they are eating when training.

So it comes down to even if you are working out hardcore, if you’re eating more to make up for it, you’re not gonna see results. And if you’re a woman, you’re going to have it even tougher. Of the seven runners the study examined who put on weight after competing in marathons, six were women. Unless you have the discipline to keep your eating habits the same, marathons do not sound like a realistic way to lose weight.