Exercising hard can speed up your weight loss goals—especially if you’re a woman.
A small study from the University of Virginia found that vigorous exercise suppresses levels of the “hunger hormone” ghrelin in healthy adults more than moderate exercise.
“We found that individuals felt ‘less hungry’ after high-intensity exercise compared to moderate-intensity exercise,” said lead study author Kara Anderson.
Eight men and six women participated in the study by fasting overnight and exercising at varying intensities. Then they reported how hungry they felt.
The researchers measured their blood lactate, which indicates exercise intensity, and their levels of ghrelin, a hormone produced mainly in the stomach that tells the brain when it’s time to eat.
Ghrelin circulates in two forms – acylated, the active hormone, and deacylated, the most abundant form of ghrelin in the body.
Female participants had higher amounts of total ghrelin at the start of the study than males — and only females demonstrated “significant reductions” in acylated ghrelin after intense exercise, according to the study.
Less acylated grelin means less hunger.
Moderate-intensity exercise did not change ghrelin levels or lead to an increase, the researchers said.
These findings, published Thursday in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, indicate that exercise above a certain lactate threshold may be necessary to suppress ghrelin.
“Exercise should be considered a ‘medicine,’ where the ‘dose’ should be customized based on an individual’s personal goals,” Anderson said. “Our research suggests that high-intensity exercise may be important for appetite suppression, which may be particularly beneficial as part of a weight loss program.”
The results of the new study add to the long-running debate over whether cardio or strength training is better for weight loss.
Cardio typically burns more calories per sweat session, but strength training builds muscle mass, which burns more calories when the body is at rest.
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