Why are some long time martial arts practioners still fat?

My aunt's ex boyfriend has diabetes and he was over weight. This was 4 years ago, he took my brother and I to practice Wing Chun every Saturday morning. He has practiced this martial arts for many years yet why is he still over weight?





People say if you practice marital arts it gives great exercise since its cadio you burn a lot of fat. I mean look at my aunt's ex hes still fat, whys that? I've also see other martial arts instructors and they have round bellies... I thought they would have abs after a long period of practice.





Thanks for reading.

Why are some long time martial arts practioners still fat?
Martial arts indeed help you burn calories as any other exercise, but if your calorie intake is more than what you burn, you gain weight.





There are other factors that apply as well, such as genetics, or a hormonal problem.
Reply:If the person still takes eats more calories than he/she burns while exercising, they will still gain weight.
Reply:Sammo Hong is fat but I wouldn't mess with him!





If your aunt's ex-boyfriend is not eating properly he could still be fat regardless of the exercise he gets from martial arts. But on the whole, I haven't seen too many fat people in martial arts.
Reply:He may be slacking. Sometimes people dont lose weight at all by working out even at gyms. Martial Arts wouldnt do it for him.
Reply:I trained under one instructor who didn't emphasize excercise much. He felt doing the forms were enough. I disagreed and worked out on my own. He himself was not that fat but he did have a bit of a pot belly.
Reply:In certain martial arts you eventually gain internal power. When you use the internal power you must use less muscle force and hence burn less calories.





Also as many people get better they do not push themselves as hard at physical training as they had to initially when they started. This is why many people see a plateau in their fat loss after a while in martial arts.





For martial arts to be effective as a fitness program or as a martial art you must constantly push yourself beyond your level of endurance.