New Study: Exercising is Great for Your Appetite

Losing weight is not easy. There are many reasons someone may fail their journey towards weight loss and diet lapses seem to be a common factor. There is some disagreement among experts whether physical exercise benefits or hinders diet lapses. There are studies supporting exercise leading to increased appetite along with a sense of justification which leads to overeating. While other studies show exercise assist with reducing hunger which decreases the urge to overeat. Researchers from the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science at Drexel University discovered exercise to be a great aide in preventing relapses during a weight loss program. Participants in this study were on a reduced caloric diet and exercised regularly in their real-world environments . According to Rebecca Crochiere, a graduate student and lead author of the study, says that most weight loss programs prescribe exercise because of all the health benefits and because we know it burns calories. The results of her study show that exercise may also be very beneficial in reducing weight gain relapse. The study shows that exercise limits appetite and eating behaviors which is why it is so beneficial during a weight loss program. The study also showed that when one did not exercise, the risk of overeating in the coming hours when up 12 percent. Whereas, when the participants exercised for 60 min, the risk of overeating was cut in half. Moreover, for every 10 min extra the participant exercised, the risk decreased by 1 percent.[

The study was performed with 135 participants that were surveyed multiple times a day about their eating habits. Questionnaires were sent out via smartphone to track eating habits while hip sensors were worn on the hip to track exercise.

“These findings can help researchers to better understand when participants who are seeking weight loss are at risk of overeating,” said Crochiere. “It can inform the development of treatments that prevent overeating and facilitate weight loss.”

The study did hint that the intensity of the exercise could be a factor in the influence of eating behavior. Though Crochiere said their next step would be to test if exercise, and the intensity of that exercise affected eating patterns from person to person.

Crochiere did give a bit of caution about the study. This study represents patterns found throughout the participants as a whole and the next step would be to see the variations from person to person.

The studies results might have represented a small sample size of the general population, not to mention the outside factors such as location of the participants played a role. However, we already know that exercise is beneficial to the human body. Whether that is regulating your eating behaviors or improving your brain function, we know that it improves these factors. The one hurdle someone has to tackle when venturing on their weight loss journey is falling back into homeostasis. Consistency is the key.