Does Exercise Increase or Decrease Hunger?

Exercise has a positive effect on your body – in a double sense. Not only does it get your figure in shape, it is said to reduce the feeling of hunger.

Those who have not yet found the right drive for exercising may be convinced by the latest results of a British study published in the specialist magazine “Medicine and Science In Sports and Exercise”. Experts from Loughborough University have found that exercise slows down hunger. According to the study, exercise not only boosts calorie consumption, but also reduces calorie intake. Losing weight in a double sense.

The study: Exercise reduces the feeling of hunger

Two groups were targeted in the study: One group was put on a diet, the other group completed a 90-minute workout on a treadmill. Afterwards both groups of participants were allowed to fill their stomachs at an “all-you-can-eat” buffet.

The result: The athletes consumed on average about one third less calories (663) than the non-athletes (947). The scientists have two reasons for this: firstly, the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin is reduced during exercise, and secondly the reptile hormone YY is released, which suppresses hunger. The opposite is the case with people who are on a diet.

Effect only works with regular training

Previous studies had already shown that intensive exercise reduces the hunger hormone ghrelin. At the same time, it is also known that this effect does not occur during moderate activity, but only during a strenuous workout. And the right basis should always be created for this. A balanced diet is therefore always preferable to a diet, because it is the key to a healthy feel-good weight.