The somewhat confusing thing is that people focus so much on "losing weight". Even if exercise makes you hungrier, it's been shown quite conclusively to make you healthier.
If you really want to lose weight without regard to any other factors then take up smoking as it reduces your appetite. Or just cut off your legs. Certainly don't build up any muscle mass as that will only make you heavier.
Also, lack of exercise is correlated with weight gain in larger population and consequent lack of health.
People confuse this the statement that later exercise make up for a person's lack of exercise at a given period. This might or might not be true but it doesn't follow from the first statement. Lack of exercise over longer periods might screw people in ways that we have no idea how to fix.
We are just going back to what we knew 40 years ago.
Basically, between 1960 and 2009 we thought exercise will make you thinner.
Outside those times exercise was thought to increase appetite.