Exercise & Fitness

Why exercise if I'm not losing weight?

Ask the doctor

By , Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Mature couple jogging on a brick path in a park.Q. I've often tried to start a regular exercise program. But after a few weeks, I step on the scale and I haven't lost any weight. So, what's the point?

Regular exercise (both aerobic and resistance) reduces your risk of the most common causes of premature death: heart disease, strokes, and many types of cancer, including cancers of the breast, lung, colon, esophagus, prostate, pancreas, liver, kidney, bladder, or endometrium (lining of the uterus), as well as myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And that's just for openers.

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About the Author

photo of Anthony L. Komaroff, MD

Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Dr. Anthony L. Komaroff is the Steven P. SimcoxPatrick A. Clifford/James H. Higby Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, senior physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and editor in chief of the … See Full Bio
View all posts by Anthony L. Komaroff, MD

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