Interestingly enough, Dr. Mike Eades addresses this in a response to his latest blog entry:

Given your comment about total energy expenditure, I’m wondering what you think of Taubes’ assertion that exercise doesn’t help weight loss. It seems as though it could make a big difference, especially if you are running a few miles a day and don’t add any more calories to your diet. I realize Taubes basically believes that exercise will just make you eat more. From my own experience, though, I’m not sure that’s true.

When Taubes said that exercise doesn’t help weight loss he made a distinction that most people didn’t pick up on. He said that exercise as typically prescribed - i.e., to move a little more, to walk 20 minutes, etc. - doesn’t help weight loss. And the medical literature backs him up. When people are put on these fairly gentle regimens and are compared to others who don’t follow the protocol, they don’t lose any more weight. More intense exercise - running a few miles per day, for example - is a different story, and Gary would be the first to agree.