High-intensity workouts can curb hunger

High-intensity workouts aren't just an effective weight loss tool – they may help with appetite suppression too, according to a small study from the University of Western Australia.

Researchers found that obese men ate about 200 fewer calories following an extremely vigorous workout than when they performed only moderate exercise or no exercise at all.

Men complete four 30-minute cycling sessions

The study included 17 overweight men who were asked to complete four 30-minute exercise sessions on a stationary cycling bike. Three sessions were either moderate, high or very high intensity in nature, and during the fourth session, the men just rested.

The moderate session included continuous cycling, while the higher intensity exercise sessions had the men performing intervals – short bursts of speed alternated with longer periods of slower cycling.

Caloric consumption after exercise

Following each session, the men drank a liquid meal that included about 267 calories, followed by the opportunity to eat oatmeal an hour later. They were told they could eat as much as they wanted, until they were "comfortably full."

Results showed that, following the highest-intensity exercise, the men ate less – they consumed about 594 calories compared with 710 calories after moderate exercise or 764 calories after resting.

"One thing that's different is they've done this in an overweight or obese population," David Stensel, a researcher at Loughborough University in the UK told Reuters Health. "Most of the research that's been done is in normal weight or healthy weight individuals."

Not only did men eat less immediately following high-intensity exercise, but they also reported consuming about 300 fewer calories during the day after the most vigorous session.

And while cutting calories may be easier on days when this type of exercise is performed, researchers said that more studies are needed to confirm how high-intensity exercise affects appetite on a long-term basis.

The research is published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Source: NY Daily News