gregf83 

On the contrary I would say that in general it does work as shown by the following charts from one of the articles referenced above:



Most people in the study you referenced lost weight in 12 wks. Perhaps they didn't lose as much as planned but if they stuck with that protocol for a few years they would no longer be obese. No it's not a magic pill that will change your body composition in 6 wks, but if you change your lifestyle to include 60 min/day of exercise losing weight is achievable.

It's difficult to make blanket general statements based on a NY Times reporters interpretation of one study. Most studies are done on a group of obese individuals and don't necessarily represent what happens to someone who is a little overweight and wants to drop a few pounds.

For many people losing weight is difficult whether by caloric restriction alone (with no additional exercise) or exercise alone (with no change in diet). This is indisputable.

Personally, when I've lost weight in the past, exercise was very effective. It's much easier to maintain a 500 Cal/day deficit if you're burning 1000 extra Cals with exercise. Basically riding 90 min per day and eating an extra 500 Cals allows you to lose weight.