14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers writing in the International Journal of Obesity claim that high-intensity workouts can curb appetite by encouraging the release of hormones known to block feelings of hunger.
Their theory on the effects of physical activity on appetite goes against commonly held assumptions that people who exercise on a fairly regular basis tend to overeat due to the fact that they burn more calories than those who opt for a sedentary lifestyle.
After carrying out a series of experiments, scientists from the University of Western Australia concluded that high-intensity fitness routines promote weight loss not just by forcing an individual to access and burn their fat reserves, but also by curbing their appetite.
Global Post reports that these experiments boiled down to asking 17 volunteers to take part in 30-minute-long workouts, and then observing how much food these volunteers wanted to eat shortly after the workout had ended.
The volunteers were men, and all of them were overweight. They were subjected to low, moderate and high intensity workouts.
Immediately after the exercise session, they were offered a 267-calorie liquid meal. About an hour later, they were offered more food and told to eat as much as they needed in order to feel full.
As the researchers explain in their paper, the men ate significantly less after having taken part in the high-intensity workouts. More precisely, they consumed some 200 calories less.
“High intensity intermittent exercise suppresses subsequent ad-libitum energy intake in overweight inactive men. This format of exercise was found to be well tolerated in an overweight population,” the scientists sum up the findings of these experiments.
Further research into this issue is needed, seeing how the biological mechanisms triggering this reduction in appetite after an intense physical routine are yet to be pinned down.
The Australian specialists suspect that such workouts encourage the release of hormones that banish feelings of hunger, but their theory has not been confirmed.