I&#x27;ve found online reaction to this article quite interesting.  Normally data and study minded folks bring out the &quot;anecdotally, this doesn&#x27;t seem true&quot; responses, and people seem think the article is attacking exercise as a concept.<p>It&#x27;s not.<p>It&#x27;s saying that if a person&#x27;s goal is to lose weight, then adjusting to a good diet is far more important than (a reasonable amount of) exercise.<p>The article <i>does not</i> claim that exercise is harmful. In fact, it explicitly states that there are very many health reasons why exercise is important, and that exercise+diet is still better than diet alone.<p>It also goes into the culture surrounding exercise, and how it tends to be misleading.  The education in popular culture around exercising presents it as a magic pill, as being a major driving force behind weight loss.  You see this on magazine covers and on tv, &quot;belly fat exercises&quot;, &quot;toning exercises&quot;, all sorts of exercises that serve to reinforce the idea that weight is primarily a result of physical activity rather than (for most people) food consumption.<p>Ultimately though, I think the studies referenced back up the conclusion pretty well: weight loss effectiveness goes diet+exercise &gt; diet &gt; exercise, given standard amounts of each.