How We Can Use Exercise To Change Our Appetite

Faye Prior | 2014-05-05 08:54:10

It seems as though exercise doesn’t just help weight management through energy expenditure, but also by changing our appetite too.

It’s been shown numerous times that aerobic exercise can acutely decrease sensations of hunger (Martins et al., 2007), and feelings of fullness after a meal (Guelfi et al., 2013).

However, recently this finding was replicated after high intensity interval exercise, a type of exercise growing in popularity. In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, in the day following high intensity interval exercise, people tended to snack less therefore consuming fewer calories than those who didn’t exercise (Sim et al., 2014).

These findings are believed to be related to changes in appetite regulating hormones such as grehlin and leptin (Schubert et al., 2014). However we haven’t found a magic cure for curbing our food intake just yet, as research isn’t really sure how appetite is affected with long term regular exercise. Yet this still presents one of many options we can consider when attempting to regulate our energy balance.

Faye Prior (Researcher)

Sources

Guelfi, K., Donges, C. & Duffield, R. (2013). Beneficial effects of 12 weeks of aerobic compared with resistance exercise training on perceived appetite in previously sedentary overweight and obese men. Metabolism, 62, 235-43.

Martins, C., Morgan, L., Bloom, S. & Robertson, M. (2007). Effects of exercise on gut peptides, energy intake and appetite. Journal of Endocrinology, 193, 251-8.

Schubert, M., Sabapathy, S., Leveritt, M. & Desbrow, B. (2014). Acute exercise and hormones related to appetite regulation: A meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 44, 387-403.

Sim, A., Wallman, K., Fairchild, T. & Guelfi, K. (2014). High-intensity intermittent exercise attenuates ad-libitum energy intake. International Journal of Obesity, 38, 417-22.

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smanography/4246129716.