A small scale study has revealed that high intensity work outs may suppress people's appetites.
Scientists have previously found that when a person tries to lose weight by dieting alone then that person experiences constant hunger and craves food, especially one with high-calories. But when a diet is combined with a workout session, the hunger pangs subside.
A new study showed that after high intensity work out sessions, overweight men consumed about 200 less calories compared to those who ate after rest.
The study led by Aaron Sim, a graduate student at the University of Western Australia, and his colleagues, analyzed a group of 17 overweight men who volunteered for the study. The participants performed four 30-minute exercise sessions, one in which they only rested and the other three involved moderate, high or very high intensity stationary cycling.
The participants were given a liquid meal of about 267 calories after each session including the group of participants who only rested. On completing all four sessions, researchers offered oatmeal and asked participants to eat until they were full. Researchers then calculated the number of calories consumed by each participant and compared with the type of exercise they performed.
Researchers found that the participants who rested, consumed more calories than those who were involved in moderate, high or very high intensity exercises. Furthermore, participants consumed less after high intensity exercises than after moderate exercises. Since the difference in the calorie intake between very high intensity exercise and moderate exercise was very small, it may be a one off case, researchers noted.
Although the high intensity exercises helped in suppressing appetite in the participants after a short while, it did not boast similar results after a day gone without vigorous exercise. But the calorie intake remained lower than those who rested or were involved in moderate exercises. Men ate 2,000 calories a day after the very high intensity workout, while those who did moderate work outs ate little more than 2,300 calories and those who rested ate more than 2,600 calories.
The study was conducted on a small scale, hence, it was difficult to draw conclusions based on these findings, said David Stensel, a researcher at Loughborough University in the U.K. who studied the effect of exercises on food intake, according to a Reuters report.
The study results were effective in only overweight men and only for a short while, but a long-term study can help confirm these findings.
The study is published online in the International Journal of Obesity.
