Aerobic exercise elevates perceived appetite but does not modify energy intake over a 3‐day postexercise period: A pilot study

TL;DR

Aerobic exercise increases perceived appetite but does not lead to higher food intake over the next three days.

Contribution

This pilot study introduces a novel approach using a meal replacement beverage to assess energy intake after exercise in a free-living setting.

Findings

Exercise elevated perceived appetite over a 3-day period.

No significant change in energy intake or physical activity patterns was observed.

Acute exercise suppressed acyl-ghrelin and increased GDF-15, but these did not translate to increased food consumption.

Abstract

While a low degree of energy compensation is typically reported over the 24 h following a session of exercise, the prolonged impact of a bout of exercise on energy intake remains unclear. To overcome the challenge associated with accurately measuring energy intake in a free‐living environment, this study employed the use of a meal replacement beverage to assess the 3 day impact of an exercise session on energy intake. In a randomized, crossover study, 14 participants (8 male, 6 female) completed two trials: (1) EX: 75 min exercise on a motorized treadmill (75% VO2peak); and (2) SED: 75 min sedentary control session. Each condition was followed by 3 days of exclusive ad libitum consumption of a meal replacement beverage. Appetite‐regulating hormones, subjective appetite, energy intake, and energy expenditure were assessed. Exercise transiently suppressed the orexigenic hormone acyl‐ghrelin (p < 0.05) and elevated the appetite‐supressing hepatokine GDF‐15 (p < 0.05). Despite these acute changes, overall perceived appetite was elevated over the 3 day assessment period with exercise (p < 0.05). No increase in energy intake or change in postexercise physical activity patterns were observed. One acute session of moderate to vigorous exercise is unlikely to affect short‐term, three‐day energy balance in healthy individuals.

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