Health and fitness industry figureheads have rebuffed the sensational health claims by 5:2 diet advocate and author Dr Michael Mosley’s appearance on the UK TV show, This Morning.

A section of the show was trailed as “busting medical myths,” in which Mosley made a series of assertions about the inefficacy of gyms and exercise in helping to lose weight and increase physical fitness.

He said that people never lose weight from exercise “in the long run” as society’s reward culture leads to them consuming extra calories as a treat after exercise.

The controversial figure also branded as a myth the idea that exercise makes people feel better through the release of endorphins.

He also claimed that as few as 20 percent of people become noticeably fitter from exercise, citing an unnamed study that found the majority of people made negligible fitness gains from an exercise regime as they “didn’t have the right genes.”

Drawing on a recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society into the benefits of high-intensity training for pensioners he challenged conventional wisdom on physical activity and that people only need to do seconds-long bursts of high-intensity exercise to improve health and physical fitness.

The Daily Mail followed up on the interview with an article under the sensational headline “You’ll never lose weight going to the gym and exercise DOESN’T boost your mood’: Leading expert busts common fitness myths.”

Both Mosley’s comments and the Daily Mail’s subsequent reporting of them were met with anger and dismay from leading figures in the fitness industry.

The Gym Group CEO John Treharne, Health Club Management editorial director Liz Terry and énergie Group programme director and regular IHRSA speaker Paul Brown, all condemned the reporting as inaccurate and ill-informed.

Source: Health Club Management