Eating and moving more may be better for appetite control than eating less and avoiding exercise, new research suggests.
Exercising has long been known to lead to health benefits such as improved blood glucose levels, but this study highlights its importance not just for weight control but also lowering appetite.
In a bid to understand more about the relationship between energy intake, physical activity and weight control, Germany scientists conducted a study testing participants’ appetite.
Specifically, the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart team wanted to further investigate the hypothesis that weight control can be improved when physical activity and energy intake are both high, leading to a high energy turnover.
The trial involved 16 healthy people who were monitored taking part in different levels of exercise by using a treadmill at various levels of calorie intake. Each participant had their appetite hormone levels measured and all the findings were recorded.
The results revealed that compared to high energy turnover, low energy turnover led to higher feelings of desire to eat across all the levels of energy intake.
They concluded: “Appetite is regulated more effectively at a high level of energy turnover, whereas overeating and consequently weight gain is likely to occur at low levels of energy turnover.
“In contrast to the prevailing concept of body weight control, the positive impact of physical activity is independent from burning up more calories and is explained by improved appetite sensations.”
If applied to the real world, these findings suggest that weight control could be improved by burning more calories, and also help with reduced appetite.
The findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &Metabolism.
