A study in Changi General Hospital, Singapore has been looking into this question.
They found that when they studied those attempting to lose weight via diet alone, and those attempting to lose weight via diet and exercise during the 24 study had two different outcomes.
In both studies, both lost around 8lbs BUT inflammation markers and blood sugar regulation improved more in the exercise and diet group, over the the diet alone group.
They concluded that exercise is the best way of improving metabolic health, and that losing weight via just diet may be counter-productive for health, appearance and longevity.
Taken from International Journal Sports Nutrition Exercise Metabolism, 2015.
