Prolonged endurance activities, such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling or cross country skiing, are particularly effective in mobilizing fat stores. Because these activities are weight bearing they also play an important role in the prevention of osteoporosis, a disease in which the bones are deplete of calcium. The leanest athletes are runners and weight trainers. Swimmers tend to have a higher percentage of body fat than other similarly trained athletes. Aerobic exercise not only promotes weight loss, but also helps in maintaining ideal weight.

The reason aerobic exercise is so beneficial is that it enhances the muscle tissue and trains the body to draw on its stores of fat for energy. After about 20 minutes of endurance exercise, the body shifts from primarily using carbohydrates to burning up proportionally more fat.

Weight training has become popular in recent years, One concern that many women, in particular, have is that lifting weights will turn them into female versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is unlikely that women will develop exceptionally large muscles unless they take hormonal supplements. Men, on the other hand, will develop a muscular physique through weight training because they have the requisite testosterone levels to create this effect.

The advantage of weight training is that a finely tuned muscle is more efficient at using the fuel the body receives through food. it also sculpts the body into a more youthful physique.

Some women find that their abdomen and buttocks remain fat despite their participation in regular aerobic exercise and weight training programs. Scientists have found an enzyme, called lipoprotein lipase, that acts to mobilize fat stores in our bodies. For some unknown reason, the activity of this enzyme is compromised in post menopausal women, particularly in the abdominal and buttock regions. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to get rid of fat in these areas. This is why liposuction has proven to be so popular. Once fat is removed and a constant weight and fitness level are maintained, it is unlikely to return.