Acute effects of exercise on appetite, ad libitum energy intake and appetite-regulatory hormones in lean and overweight/obese men and women

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 41; no. 12; pp. 1737 - 1744
• Main Authors: Douglas, J A, King, J A, Clayton, D J, Jackson, A P, Sargeant, J A, Thackray, A E, Davies, M J, Stensel, D J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.12.2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/443/319; 631/45/776; 631/45/776/198; 692/699/2743/393; 692/700/2814; 692/700/459/284; Acute effects; Adult; Appetite; Appetite - physiology; Body weight; Confidence intervals; Cross-Over Studies; Energy intake; Energy Intake - physiology; Energy Metabolism - physiology; Epidemiology; Exercise Test - methods; Female; Females; Gastrointestinal Tract - metabolism; Ghrelin; Ghrelin - metabolism; Glucagon; Glucagon-like peptide 1; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Hormones; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Meals; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; Obesity; Original; original-article; Overweight; Overweight - metabolism; Overweight - prevention & control; Overweight - therapy; Oxygen Consumption - physiology; Oxygen uptake; Public Health; Thinness - metabolism; Thinness - prevention & control; Thinness - therapy; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2017.181

Background: Acute exercise does not elicit compensatory changes in appetite parameters in lean individuals; however, less is known about responses in overweight individuals. This study compared the acute effects of moderate-intensity exercise on appetite, energy intake and appetite-regulatory hormones in lean and overweight/obese individuals. Methods: Forty-seven healthy lean ( n =22, 11 females; mean (s.d.) 37.5 (15.2) years; 22.4 (1.5) kg m −2 ) and overweight/obese ( n =25, 11 females; 45.0 (12.4) years, 29.2 (2.9) kg m −2 ) individuals completed two, 8 h trials (exercise and control). In the exercise trial, participants completed 60 min treadmill exercise (59 (4)% peak oxygen uptake) at 0–1 h and rested thereafter while participants rested throughout the control trial. Appetite ratings and concentrations of acylated ghrelin, peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were measured at predetermined intervals. Standardised meals were consumed at 1.5 and 4 h and an ad libitum buffet meal was provided at 7 h. Results: Exercise suppressed appetite (95% confidence interval (CI) −3.1 to −0.5 mm, P =0.01), and elevated delta PYY (95% CI 10 to 17 pg ml −1 , P <0.001) and GLP-1 (95% CI 7 to 10 pmol l −1 , P <0.001) concentrations. Delta acylated ghrelin concentrations (95% CI −5 to 3 pg ml −1 , P =0.76) and ad libitum energy intake (95% CI −391 to 346 kJ, P =0.90) were similar between trials. Subjective and hormonal appetite parameters and ad libitum energy intake were similar between lean and overweight/obese individuals ( P ⩾0.27). The exercise-induced elevation in delta GLP-1 was greater in overweight/obese individuals (trial-by-group interaction P =0.01), whereas lean individuals exhibited a greater exercise-induced increase in delta PYY (trial-by-group interaction P <0.001). Conclusions: Acute moderate-intensity exercise transiently suppressed appetite and increased PYY and GLP-1 in the hours after exercise without stimulating compensatory changes in appetite in lean or overweight/obese individuals. These findings underscore the ability of exercise to induce a short-term energy deficit without any compensatory effects on appetite regardless of weight status.