# Exercise and losing weight

WHO names 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity a week for adults, plus regular muscle-strengthening activity.[^1]

## Where Germany stands

According to the Robert Koch Institute, 48.0% of adults meet the aerobic recommendation and 36.3% the one for muscle training. 26.3% manage both. These are self-reports from a survey of 23,001 people.[^4] So if you do less, you are in good company.

## What this means for weight

On its own, exercise often moves the scales less than people hope. According to a review, aerobic programmes in line with the usual recommendations bring a modest loss of about 2 kg at most, and this varies widely from person to person.[^2]

One reason: the body saves elsewhere. An analysis of 1,754 adults found that on average only 72% of the extra energy burned really adds to what is used that day.[^3]

## Why it counts anyway

Exercise is worth it even without weight loss, because it has health benefits.[^2] So the scales are not the right measure of whether it does anything.

## Strength training while losing weight

Strength training does not make weight loss faster, as the American College of Sports Medicine also says.[^5] Its value lies elsewhere: in 114 studies with 4,184 people, muscle mass stayed almost the same on a diet with strength training.[^6]

A deficit of about 500 kcal a day held back muscle gain, but strength still went up.[^7] So on a diet the aim is rather to keep muscle. More under [Strength training and muscle during weight loss](https://kostenlos-abnehmen.de/en/wissen/krafttraining).

## Steps: how many are enough?

A review of 57 studies found a 47% lower risk of death at 7,000 steps a day than at 2,000, and the curve flattened around 5,000 to 7,000.[^8] In people over 60, another review saw the benefit end at 6,000 to 8,000 steps, in younger adults at 8,000 to 10,000.[^9]

These are observational data on health, not on weight. Healthy people may simply walk more. Step counters added about 2,500 steps a day in 26 studies, with a small effect on weight.[^10] Every step above where you are now counts, and there is no magic number.

## It helps more with keeping weight off

After a diet with about 13 kg lost, 195 people with supervised training were 4.1 kg better off after a year than with placebo. The range was wide.[^11] The American College of Sports Medicine names over 250 minutes a week as a level linked to better maintenance, but also says that good trials are missing.[^5]

## Sitting a lot

In data from over a million people, those who sat more than 8 hours a day but moved moderately for about 60 to 75 minutes daily had no clearly higher risk of death.[^12] Short movement breaks also lowered blood sugar and insulin after meals in 37 lab studies.[^13] So an office job does not decide everything.

## How to start

Find something that fits your week and that you enjoy. Walking places counts too. In the app you can enter movement if you want to. If you have an illness or have paused for a long time, talk to your doctor first.

## Sources

[^1]: [Bull FC et al.: World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Br J Sports Med, 2020](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33239350/)
[^2]: [Swift DL et al.: The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Prog Cardiovasc Dis, 2014](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24438736/)
[^3]: [Careau V et al.: Energy compensation and adiposity in humans. Curr Biol, 2021](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34453886/)
[^4]: [Robert Koch Institute: Physical activity of adults, health reporting](https://www.gbe.rki.de/DE/Themen/EinflussfaktorenAufDieGesundheit/GesundheitsUndRisikoverhalten/KoerperlicheAktivitaet/Bewegungsverhalten/bewegungsverhalten_node.html)
[^5]: [Donnelly JE et al.: Appropriate physical activity intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2009](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19127177/)
[^6]: [Lopez P et al.: Resistance training effectiveness on body composition and body weight outcomes in individuals with overweight and obesity. Obes Rev, 2022](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35191588/)
[^7]: [Murphy C, Koehler K: Energy deficiency impairs resistance training gains in lean mass but not strength. Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2022](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34623696/)
[^8]: [Ding D et al.: Daily steps and health outcomes in adults. Lancet Public Health, 2025](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40713949/)
[^9]: [Paluch AE et al.: Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. Lancet Public Health, 2022](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35247352/)
[^10]: [Bravata DM et al.: Using pedometers to increase physical activity and improve health. JAMA, 2007](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18029834/)
[^11]: [Lundgren JR et al.: Healthy Weight Loss Maintenance with Exercise, Liraglutide, or Both Combined. N Engl J Med, 2021](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33951361/)
[^12]: [Ekelund U et al.: Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? Lancet, 2016](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27475271/)
[^13]: [Loh R et al.: Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting with Physical Activity Breaks. Sports Med, 2020](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31552570/)

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Last updated: November 2026. This is general information and not medical advice.

Original article: https://kostenlos-abnehmen.de/en/wissen/bewegung