It is common knowledge that exercise burns calories, and burning calories will help people lose weight, but this article discussing a recent study done by scientists at the University of North Dakota and Kentucky found that losing weight is also determinant on how much time you spend exercising.

For years the average recommended exercise time has been 30 minutes a day. These scientists put this to the test by inviting 31 overweight, sedentary men and women to take part in their study. All of the participants didn’t intentionally change their diet, they only changed their exercise habits. For four months, half of the individuals exercised 30 minutes a day and the other half exercised an hour a day. At the end of the study they found that both groups compensated for some of the calories that they burned by eating a little more. The group that only exercised for 30 minutes burned 1,500 calories in a day and only had a 500 calorie deficit because of the slight increase in their calorie consumption, but those who exercised 60 minutes a day burned 3,000 calories, and still had a deficit of 2,000 calories deficit.

Dr. Kyle Flack, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky, who conducted the experiment as part of his graduate research, concluded that people can lose weight through exercise, but thirty minutes is not enough in order for most individuals to see a weight loss difference.