Get this: a number of recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym ads or on shows like The Biggest Loser.

How could the role of exercise be so wildly overstated? The problem is that while it’s true that exercise burns calories and you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise also has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. So working out causes you to eat more which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits you accrued during your brutal spin class.

It’s called compensation but you and I might know it as the lip-licking anticipation for a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut (Yum!) after a hard trip to the gym. That’s only made worst by another compensation technique many of us are guilty of: moving around a lot less than usual afterward because we feel we put in enough energy during our gym visit.

Experts say that although exercise does play a role in weight loss, more should be said about the ravenous compensatory eating that follows.

In short, it’s what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. And exercise doesn’t necessarily mean sweaty, exhausting, bursts of activity that leaves you sore and famished. It’s also normal leisure-time physical activity like walking and gardening.

Remember: exercise has the added benefit of enhancing heart health, helping prevent disease, improving mental health and cognitive ability. And it can help you lose weight. Just watch what you stuff in your mouth afterward.

Want to do something around health and fitness?

• Write down a fitness goal, give it to a friend and have them send it to you in a month to see how far you've come
• Challenge your teachers to a sports match against their students.