> This is repeated a lot but if you actually look at the research you find that physical exercise has very little effect(except maybe as a preventative).
This baseless assertion is simply outright wrong, and utterly absurd on so many levels.
> Sorry there was some confusion. By long term I meant 3-10 year follow ups.
That only happens if the patient relapses into his previous unhealthy lifestyle.
You can't simply follow a poor high calory diet and a sedentary lifestyle and still expect zero consequences from your actions. If your problem is behavioral then you fix it by fixing the problems in your behavior.
Weight loss from diet/exercise will definitely persist for a year or even a couple.
Also specifically about exercise your study says "[Weight] did not change in the exercise without weight loss [group]"