Will Exercise Really Make You Thinner?

New York Magazine asks that question and delves into the muddled world of exercise science. From the article:

"The dietary guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for instance, now recommend that we engage in up to 60 minutes daily of “moderate to vigorous intensity” physical activity just to maintain weight—that is, keep us from fattening further. Considering the ubiquity of the message, the hold it has on our lives, and the elegant simplicity of the notion—burn calories, lose weight—wouldn’t it be nice to believe it were true? The catch is that science suggests it’s not, and so the answer to all of the above quiz questions is “no.”"

I am always amazed at how little we actually know about the human body and how it works. As the article discusses, we have been taught for our entire lives that people get fat because they are lazy and eat too much, but the science behind these claims is apparently murky.