Doing More Exercise won't Help you burn more Calories Reading Answer

Mar 19, 2025

Doing More Exercise Won't Help You Burn More Calories is an IELTS Reading Answers which contains 14 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. This reading answer also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. Doing More Exercise Won't Help You Burn More Calories consists of questions like: Write the correct letter and choose no more than two words. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, Doing More Exercise won't Help you burn more Calories Reading Answers speaks about why doing more exercise may not always lead to burning more calories. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Topic:

A simple calculation lies at the heart of a lot of mainstream weight loss advice. If calories out exceed calories in, you will lose weight. It is why both exercise and diet are said to be key to staying trim, and why many of us feel we can make amends for overindulging by joining the gym or dusting off our running shoes. It now turns out something weirder is going on. Working out a lot doesn't appear to burn more calories than doing a little. In fact, going mad in the gym doesn't seem to burn any more calories than moderate activity a few days a week and taking the stairs, for instance. Some of the biggest clues that something was up with the exercise and weight loss equation lie far from the gym, on the plains of Tanzania. Here, the Hadza people live as we all once did, as hunter-gatherers. The men walk about 10 kilometres each day, stalking game with bows and arrows, while women spend hours on the move, digging for wild tubers and picking berries. A few years ago, Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary anthropologist at Hunter College in New York, and his colleagues headed to Tanzania to study the Hadza and their metabolism. Pontzer wasn't expecting to reveal any big mysteries around exercise. "It started off that we wanted to just ask a basic question: ‘How many calories do you need to burn to live as a hunter-gatherer?” he says. To the team’s amazement, the Hadza got through only slightly more than Westerners who drive to a job to sit all day, with the men using up about 2600 calories and the women 1900. "I couldn't believe it," says Pontzer. The findings caused a stir. They called into question the widely accepted idea that sedentary lifestyles in many societies are responsible for the obesity epidemic. Instead, Pontzer and his team began to wonder whether our daily energy expenditure could have evolved to be fixed at these levels, regardless of whether we sit at a desk all day or search the plains looking for our next meal. To back up the idea, what’s needed is to study other ways of living too, including populations with Western lifestyles. That’s where Lara Dugas of Loyola University Chicago comes into the story. Her team kitted out nearly 2000 people from the US, Ghana, Jamaica, South Africa and the Seychelles with activity monitors for eight days to gauge their basic pattern of physical activity. She then tracked their weight over several years. The upshot? Activity levels didn't predict weight two years later. In fact, those who met the US guideline of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, according to the monitor data, tended to have put on more weight than those that did less.

A paradox indeed. In 2016, Pontzer and Dugas joined forces. They looked in more detail at over 300 of the people in Dugas's original study. It turned out that those who were moderately active used up about 200 more calories per day than sedentary people, but after that, calorie burning plateaued. Those who exercised every day didn't burn any more than those who worked out a few times a week. "Only at the very, very low end did we see anything like a trend of lower activity being paired with lower energy expenditure," says Pontzer.

This view tallies with calculations of how much people exercise when viewed over longer time spans, says Glenn Gaesser at Arizona State University. "If you add up the amount of calories individuals would expend doing 150 minutes of exercise a week, times 52 weeks of the year, you come up into the literally tens of thousands of calories that are expended." And yet exercisers only weigh around 2 kilograms less on average, he says. As the evidence piles up, says Pontzer, the idea that activity dictates how many calories you burn looks "pretty naive" It seems time to put the calories in, calories out equation to rest. But how can it be that people do more exercise without seeming to expend extra energy? The assumption has been that they eat more to make up for it, whether because they are hungrier or feel like they have earned it. "You can consume a doughnut in less than a minute," says Gaesser. "But that minute of consuming the doughnut might take an hour or more of walking to match in terms of calories." It also doesn't help that people grossly overestimate their energy use during exercise. In one study, people were assigned a treadmill workout and then told to estimate how many calories they burned and eat an equivalent amount from a buffet. They guessed they used up 800 calories and ate about 550. In reality, they had burned just 200. That might help explain why Dugas found that those meeting US exercise guidelines tended to have put on more weight. But it wouldn't explain why the Hadza's prolific activity doesn't add up to much more energy consumption over the course of a day than a sedentary lifestyle.

So another suggestion for this exercise paradox is that our bodies compensate for a hard workout by moving less the rest of the day. Some clues have come from mice. When given running wheels to prompt exercise, they were found to move around less than usual in between bouts of activity. The number of calories saved from moving less the rest of the day almost exactly negated the calories burned from running. It seems people make similar sorts of adjustments when they embark on a new exercise regime, even if they don't realize it.

Rather than think of people as active or sedentary, an increasing number of us are both active, playing sports or working out regularly, and sedentary, spending the rest of the day sitting, says James Betts, who studies nutrition and exercise at the University of Bath, UK. So it is a mistake to just count the calories burned on a treadmill and not consider the rest of the day, he says. "All these other parts of exercise, just moving around more, can be the biggest component of energy expenditure and can dictate which person might be lean and which person might be obese," he says. Ultimately, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that diet offers greater potential than exercise to get the calorie equation working more in your favor. But exercise does still have a place in the weight-loss journey: once you lose weight, it can help prevent the common problem of putting it back on. And there are plenty of other excellent reasons to exercise. "The Hadza are about three times more physically active than any Western population," says Pontzer. "And, not a shocker, they also have excellent heart health, they never get diabetes, they're not overweight. They age extraordinarily well." Being active improves overall health, mobility and brain function, and reduces the risk for many chronic conditions including Alzheimer's disease. "Exercise has health-promoting actions that far exceed its role of regulating weight," says Gaesser, "so don't be disappointed if you don't lose a lot of weight."

Questions 27-32

Look at the following research findings and the list of researchers below. Match each research finding with the correct researcher, A, B or C.

Write the correct letter, A, B or C.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

27. The amount of energy expended from doing exercise is not equally matched with the amount of calories gained from food.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "You can consume a doughnut in less than a minute," says Gaesser. "But that minute of consuming the doughnut might take an hour or more of walking to match in terms of calories."

Keywords: doughnut, walking

Keyword Location: para 10, line 3

Explanation: Gaesser highlights how consuming food is far easier and faster than burning the same amount of calories through exercise, reinforcing the idea that calorie intake can easily surpass calorie expenditure.

28. The purpose of exercise is far more significant than to help a person lose weight.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "Exercise has health-promoting actions that far exceed its role of regulating weight," says Gaesser."

Keywords: Exercise, health-promoting

Keyword Location: para 13, Last line

Explanation: Gaesser emphasizes that exercise provides many other health benefits beyond weight loss, such as improved heart health, reduced risk of chronic diseases, and better overall well-being.

29. In the long term, people who follow a rigorous weekly exercise regime show no correspondingly marked results in weight loss.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "And yet exercisers only weigh around 2 kilograms less on average, he says."

Keywords: Exercisers, 2 kilograms

Keyword Location: para 9, Last line

Explanation: Gaesser points out that despite burning thousands of calories through exercise over time, the average weight difference remains small, indicating that exercise alone is not highly effective for long-term weight loss.

30. Energy expenditure from a person's daily activities, besides regular workouts, can largely determine their body weight.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: "All these other parts of exercise, just moving around more, can be the biggest component of energy expenditure and can dictate which person might be lean and which person might be obese," he says”.

Keywords: Exercise, energy expenditure

Keyword Location: para 12, Last line

Explanation: James Betts suggests that daily movements beyond structured exercise—such as walking, standing, or taking the stairs—play a crucial role in determining body weight.

31. The idea that more exercise corresponds to higher energy expenditure is not empirically proven.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: "As the evidence piles up, says Pontzer, the idea that activity dictates how many calories you burn looks ‘pretty naive”.

Keywords: Calories, Pontzer

Keyword Location: para 9, Last line

Explanation: Pontzer challenges the assumption that increasing exercise directly leads to burning significantly more calories, indicating a lack of empirical proof for this belief.

32. Some evidence suggests that people underestimate the complexity of what causes obesity.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: "It also doesn't help that people grossly overestimate their energy use during exercise.”

Keywords: Energy , exercise

Keyword Location: para 10, line 4

Explanation: Research indicates that people misjudge the number of calories they burn and the factors that contribute to obesity, making weight management more complex than just exercising.

Questions 33-37

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER.

Energy expenditure from exercise and weight loss

The Hadza

• Inhabit 33...........

Answer: Tanzania

Supporting statement: "Here, the Hadza people live as we all once did, as hunter-gatherers.”

Keywords: Hadza, hunter-gatherers

Keyword Location: para 3, line 1

Explanation: The passage clearly states that the Hadza people live in Tanzania, making it the correct answer.

as 34……….

Answer: Hunter-gatherers

Supporting statement: "Here, the Hadza people live as we all once did, as hunter-gatherers.”

Keywords: Hadza, hunter-gatherers

Keyword Location: para 3, line 1

Explanation: This confirms their lifestyle as hunter-gatherers, making it the correct response.

The men's job: hunting with bows and arrows.

• The women's job: digging for tubers and picking berries.

• The men's energy expenditure: up to 35………….

Answer: 2600

Supporting statement: "The men using up about 2600 calories and the women 1900.”

Keywords: 2600 calories, women 1900

Keyword Location: para 4, line 5

Explanation: The passage provides specific calorie expenditures for men and women, with men using 2600 calories daily.

calories, 700 more than the women's.

2000 people from the US, Ghana, Jamaica, South Africa and the Seychelles

• Monitored for more than a week to measure their activity's 36……………….

Answer: Patterns

Supporting statement: "Her team kitted out nearly 2000 people from the US, Ghana, Jamaica, South Africa and the Seychelles with activity monitors for eight days to gauge their basic pattern of physical activity.”

Keywords: 2000 people, physical activity

Keyword Location: para 6, line 2

Explanation: The passage describes tracking the "pattern of physical activity" to measure their movements, making "patterns" the best fit.

• Those who followed the US exercise guidelines ironically gained more weight Mice

• Encouraged to 37………. with running wheels but found to move less than usual.

Answer: Run

Supporting statement: "When given running wheels to prompt exercise, they were found to move around less than usual in between bouts of activity.”

Keywords: Exercise, activity

Keyword Location: para 13, line 2

Explanation: The passage describes how mice were encouraged to run but ended up moving less throughout the day, making "run" the correct answer.

Questions 38-40

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each.

Numerous studies are indicative of the more considerable 38………..

Answer: Superiority

Supporting statement: "Ultimately, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that diet offers greater potential than exercise to get the calorie equation working more in your favor.”

Keywords: Diet, calorie equation

Keyword Location: Last para, line 5

Explanation: The passage highlights that diet plays a more significant role in weight loss than exercise. While exercise has its benefits, dietary control is the more effective method for managing calorie intake and maintaining weight.

of proper dietary regimes

compared to that of exercise. That said, regular exercise holds remarkable health-related merits, not limited to 39…………..,

Answer: Heart Health

Supporting statement: "The Hadza are about three times more physically active than any Western population... And, not a shocker, they also have excellent heart health.”

Keywords: Hadza, Western population

Keyword Location: Last para, line 7

Explanation: The lifestyle of the Hadza, who are highly active, is linked to excellent heart health. This suggests that regular exercise provides cardiovascular benefits, making it one of the key advantages of staying physically active.

as can be seen in the lifestyle of the Hadza,

who are much more physically active than Westerners are. Exercise can not only better a person's overall health, mobility and brain function but ward off many

40...... as well.

Answer: Chronic Conditions

Supporting statement: "Being active improves overall health, mobility and brain function, and reduces the risk for many chronic conditions including Alzheimer's disease.”

Keywords: Chronic conditions, Alzheimer's

Keyword Location: Last para, line 9

Explanation: The passage emphasizes that exercise not only enhances mobility and cognitive function but also plays a crucial role in preventing chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer's, reinforcing its long-term health benefits.

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