Genetics. Where there is good reason to suspect a genetic influence on obesity, it is reasonable to suspect that the fat loss response to exercise will be blunted in comparison with the non-obese. Generic influences probably mean a reduced level of fat utilisation at a given exercise intensity meaning that a greater total amount, and greater attention to the type of energy intake, is required.
Race. Although not yet widely studied, differences in body fat distribution, muscle fibre type, and fat oxidation rates between different ethnic and racial groups could be expected to have an impact on exercise effects between groups. For example, the higher level of glycolytic fast twitch’ muscle fibre in negroid people and American Indians, which is known to be associated with higher levels of body fatness, could influence the exercise parameters required for optimal fat loss in these racial groups, although the most appropriate approaches are not yet known. Until more research confirms these proposals, the general principle of increased energy expenditure for fat loss is all that can be recommended.
Myth-information. It is often assumed that mates and females should lose fat at the same rate through physical activity. This is not so. Exercise appears to be not as effective for fat loss in most women as it is in men.
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