I have no idea what the view of Cambridge is on this, but I do have my own views
I have a book written by a very reliable author who states that too much cardio with a VLCD can reduced the metabolic rate
AND reduce lean mass. I know he would have researched this intensively.
From The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald
In severe dieting situations, aerobic exercise may actually be worse than just dieting (health benefits excepted). In one study, the addition of aerobic exercise (27 hours total over 5 weeks) to a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (500 cal/day) caused a greater drop in metabolic rate than dieting alone and caused no additional weight or fat loss
And a whole load more, plus
The inclusion of aerobic exercise may do more harm than good at this calorie level.
Though he does also say that the more overweight a person is, the less of a concern there is.
I’ll quote from a published paper here (sure there must be more but I’m lazy)
Department of Human Performance and Applied Exercise Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506, USA.
OBJECTIVE: Utilization of very-low-calorie diets (VLCD) for weight loss results in loss of lean body weight (LBW) and a decrease in resting metabolic rate (RMR). The addition of aerobic exercise does not prevent this. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of intensive, high volume resistance training combined with a VLCD on these parameters. METHODS: Twenty subjects (17 women, three men), mean age 38 years, were randomly assigned to either standard treatment control plus diet (C+D), n = 10, or resistance exercise plus diet (R+D), n = 10. Both groups consumed 800 kcal/day liquid formula diets for 12 weeks. The C+D group exercised 1 hour four times/week by walking, biking or stair climbing. The R+D group performed resistance training 3 days/week at 10 stations increasing from two sets of 8 to 15 repetitions to four sets of 8 to 15 repetitions by 12 weeks. Groups were similar at baseline with respect to weight, body composition, aerobic capacity, and resting metabolic rate. RESULTS: Maximum oxygen consumption (Max VO2) increased significantly (p<0.05) but equally in both groups. Body weight decreased significantly more (p<0.01) in C+D than R+D. The C+D group lost a significant (p<0.05) amount of LBW (51 to 47 kg). No decrease in LBW was observed in R+D. In addition, R+D had an increase (p<0.05) in RMR O2 ml/kg/min (2.6 to 3.1). The 24 hour RMR decreased (p<0.05) in the C+D group. CONCLUSION: The addition of an intensive, high volume resistance training program resulted in preservation of LBW and RMR during weight loss with a VLCD.
Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combine...[J Am Coll Nutr. 1999] - PubMed Result
Which basically means
Cardio and Diet
Lost more body weight but lost more LBM (ie Lost more lean mass)
RMR (resting metabolic rate) decreased ie (metabolism reduced)
Resistance and Diet
Lost no lean
Increase in RMR (raised metabolic rate)
Conclusion: The addition of an intensive, high volume resistance training program resulted in preservation of LBW and RMR during weight loss with a VLCD.
It’s seems that the lots of cardio had the opposite effect. Reduced lean mass, and lowered metabolic rate. So, whilst I'm not saying cut the cardio, I do believe that people can do too much cardio which can cause problems.
