MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Weight control

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Weight control

Weight lifting builds muscle, which increases overall body strength, tone, and balance. Muscles also burn calories more efficiently than fat and other body tissues. So even at rest the more muscle tissue a person has the more calories a person is burning.

Update Date: 7/17/2007

Updated by: Robert Hurd, MD, Professor of Endocrinology, Department of Biology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH, and physician in the Primary Care Clinic, Cincinnati Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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