Feeling hungry? Just exercise.

Recent published research shows interesting connection between exercise and appetite (Broom DR, et al, 2008).

Two types of exercise regimes were evaluated for their effect on hunger and levels of the gut hormones acylated ghrelin and peptide YY. 90 minutes of weight training using free weights were compared with a 60 minute run as an aerobic exercise. A comparison was also made with the participants resting.

Changes in acylated ghrelin indicating suppressed hunger was seen with both the resistance training and the aerobic training while the peptide YY was only elevated after the aerobic training also indicating reduced hunger. The feeling of hunger was rated with both types of exercise and with rest.

This was only a small study, but interesting. The participants reported decreased hunger with both resistance training and aerobic exercise. If you are looking for appetite suppression, you may be better off with aerobic type exercise, but weight training should also help you feel less hungry.

Wishing you the best for the holidays. Now you know what to do to combat the urge to eat too much.

References:

Broom DR, et al. The influence of resistance and aerobic exercise on hunger, circulating levels of acylated ghrelin and peptide YY in healthy males. Am J Regul Physiol Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Nov 5.