Did the holiday feasts leave a little extra flab around your waistline? Don't worry, it's never too late to turn things around. You just need to dedicate a little more than two hours a week to aerobic activities like walking, running, or cycling to shake off those extra pounds and get back to feeling your best.

A recent large-scale meta-analysis of 116 randomized clinical trials involving nearly 7,000 adults with overweight or obesity has shed new light on the power of physical exercise. The results, published in JAMA Network, highlight a strong dose-response connection between aerobic exercise and reductions in weight, waist size, and body fat.

For those with obesity or overweight, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25, aerobic training for less than 30 minutes a day, five days a week, led to clinically significant reductions.

"At least 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise at moderate intensity is required to achieve important weight loss," Dr. Ahmad Jayedi, the first author of the study told the Guardian. "For people who were overweight or obese, losing 5% of body weight in three months is regarded as clinically important," he added.

However, the real transformation occurred when aerobic exercise surpassed 150 minutes. The study noted that people who exercised at moderate to vigorous intensities for 300 minutes a week had a steady, linear weight loss.

"Motivating people can be quite challenging, especially when it comes to altering their lifestyle and boosting their physical activity levels. Habits like consuming a lot of ultra-processed foods and having a sedentary life are deeply ingrained, making them tough to change," Dr. Jayedi said. However, taking a few simple changes in the daily routine like getting off the bus or train a stop earlier than usual, or taking a different route to work can add a bit more walking to the day.

"When it comes to exercise, all forms are beneficial, and we didn't evaluate any differences among them. However, walking and running are excellent examples of aerobic activities that can easily fit into our daily lives," Dr. Jayedi said.

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