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L2b Comprehension Set 1 – Exercise VS Diet
Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions in complete sentences.
Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. It
is becoming more and more common in developed countries such as the USA. According to
the World Health Organization, worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. By
2014, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight. Of these, over 600 million were obese.
Some experts claim that exercise will save you from this dreadful disease, while others say
that diet is the answer to not being teased by your friends. The question is: is exercise or a
healthy diet more effective when it comes to weight loss?
Exercising increases your calorie output, which means you spend more energy by
moving around and using your muscles. Increasing your energy demand makes your body
convert fats into respiratory substrates which are used up when you exercise, thus you
eventually lose weight. However, new studies have shown that day-to-day activities, such as
walking and maintaining posture, are a lot more effective than going to the gym to exercise.
This means you actually exercise more simply by staying alive than going to the gym! It
could be argued that exercising is therefore actually not that effective when it comes to losing
weight.
On the other hand, dieting reduces your calorie intake greatly when you switch from
fatty junk food to healthy vegetables and fruits. Nowadays, junk food is layered with oil and
fats. The number of calories in a single hamburger at McDonald’s is equal to half the
recommended daily uptake of an adult! On the other end of the spectrum, vegetables contain
few calories as they consist of mostly dietary fibres which are not broken down and absorbed
in the human body. Moreover, they take up a considerable amount of space inside your
stomach, thus giving you a sense of fullness more easily. By dieting, you can reduce your
body’s calorie intake, tackling the problem head on.
Don’t be discouraged to exercise, though. Dieting is only more effective than exercising
when it comes to weight loss. Exercising is still essential for building stronger bones and a
fitter body. The saying goes, “Weight is lost in the kitchen, but health is gained in the gym.”
1. What does “It” in paragraph 1 refer to?
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2. Why will you lose weight by increasing your energy demand?
3. What is the amount of calories in a single hamburger at McDonald’s equal to?
4. Why do vegetables give you a sense of fullness easily?
5. Which word in paragraph 3 means the same as “solving”?
6. What is exercise needed for?
7. Do you prefer to exercise or to have a healthy diet?
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