Recreational Soccer - Weight Loss Naturally and Improved Aerobic Fitness?

Apparently you can lose weight by playingplayed at a low level of intensity. Most of the
recreational soccer.guys that I know that play do it for the social
A recent study in the British Journal of Sportsaspect.
Medicine (Krustup et al, 2009, 43:825-831) took 36So what does this tell us about recreational a
healthy untrained men and randomized them intosoccer and weight loss?
three groups: a soccer group, a running group andMy guess would be the interval aspect of the
a control group.training. Most top fat loss experts include some
Training lasted for 1 hour two or three times perform of interval cardio to their weight loss
week for 12 weeks; at an average heart rate ofprograms. Not only that but also the
82% of HRmax for both the soccer and runningmulti-directional, multi-movement (jumping,
groups.heading, running, sprinting, kicking, tackling, with
At the end of the 12 weeks, the soccer groupcontact) and multi-planar actions.
improved maximal oxygen uptake (a measure ofGenerally, this study shows that open interval
aerobic fitness) 62% more than the running group.training, using multiple movements and directions is
The soccer group also lost an average of 50%superior for conditioning, muscle building and
more fat than the running group (6lbs vs. 4lbs).weight loss when compared to the same intensity
The researchers concluded that participation inof running.
recreational soccer training, has significantSo the next time you think you want to go for a
beneficial weight loss effects in some aspects it islong run or jog for your aerobic fitness, perhaps
superior to frequent moderate-intensity running.you should get out a soccer ball and kick it
To be honest these results surprised me for thearound.
simple reason that recreational soccer is usually