A study by researchers in North Carolina, USA has found that when it comes to weight and fat loss aerobic training is better than resistance training. Three groups of volunteers that were previously sedentary were either asked complete aerobic training or resistance training or a combination of aerobic and resistance training exercises three times a week throughout the study period. The results of the training exercises showed that the aerobic training alone and the aerobic plus resistance training groups lost more weight than the resistance training only group. The resistance only group actually gained weight due to more lean body mass.
Fat mass and waist circumferences also decreased in the aerobic only and aerobic plus resistance groups but did not change in the resistance only group.
The findings of the study concluded that for the average person, given limited time to exercise, the advice would be to focus on aerobic training.