Effect of different types of aerobic exercise on hunger, food choices, and ad libitum post-exercise food intake

Introduction: Exercise modulates, hunger, food choices, and energy intake both acutely and chronically. However, these effects are highly variable and are affected by both individual characteristics and exercise-dependent factors (i.e., intensity, duration). It is unknown if the effects on hunger, food choices, and energy intake differ by type of aerobic exercise. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the acute effects of duration- and energy expenditure (EE)-matched running vs. cycling on subjective hunger and hypothetical food choices before and after exercise as well as on post-exercise food intake. Methods: In a three-way crossover study, eight healthy participants (24.0±2.1 years, 21.2±1.4 kg/m2, 5 women) completed three exercise conditions at 60% VO2peak in randomized order and on separate days following a standardized breakfast: (1) 45min bike ergometer (Bike), (2) 45min treadmill running (Run), (3) and bike ergometer until reaching EE of Run (Bike_adusted). Before (pre), immediately after (post), and 30min after (post30) each condition, participants rated their subjective hunger (condensed visual analog scale from 0 to 10) and hypothetical food amount preferences for both immediate and delayed (+4h) consumption via electronic questionnaires with visual food cues. Additionally, 30min after each condition, participants completed a single-item (cheese pizza) ad libitum test meal. Results: EE during the exercise sessions was 492±114 (Bike) and 479±96 (Run and Bike_Adjusted). Food intake during the post-exercise test meal (Bike: 1134±419 kcal vs. Run: 1112±495 kcal vs. Bike_adjusted: 1162±486 kcal) did not differ between conditions (p=0.98). Similarly, changes in subjective hunger ratings from pre to post (Bike: −0.1±1.6 vs. Run: 0.5±1.6 vs. Bike_adjusted: 0.8±1.3; p=0.51) and pre to post30 (Bike: 1.0±2.1 vs. Run: 1.4±1.4 vs. Bike_adjusted: 2.3±2.4; p=0.47) did not differ between conditions. Changes in food amount preferences for immediate consumption did not differ between conditions from pre to post (Bike: 16±67 kcal [+7%] vs. Run: 52±58 kcal [+25%] vs. Bike_adjusted: 56±70 kcal [+26%]; p=0.43) or from pre to post30 (Bike: 68±86 kcal [+29%] vs. Run: 112±91 kcal [+52%] vs. Bike_adjusted: 113±102 kcal [+52%]; p=0.55). Likewise, changes in the amount selected for delayed consumption did not differ between conditions at any time point (all p≥0.78). The proportion of food selected for immediate vs. delayed consumption was significantly greater at post30 compared to pre (80±21% vs. 45±31%, p=0.03) only in Bike_adjusted. For all other conditions and time points, intertemporal food preferences did not differ (all p≥0.08). Conclusion: Our results suggest that subjective hunger and ad libitum post-exercise food intake do not differ between acute bouts of duration- and EE-matched running and cycling. There may be differences in intertemporal food preferences, though more research with larger samples is needed to corroborate these findings and explore more longitudinal effects.      «

Introduction: Exercise modulates, hunger, food choices, and energy intake both acutely and chronically. However, these effects are highly variable and are affected by both individual characteristics and exercise-dependent factors (i.e., intensity, duration). It is unknown if the effects on hunger, food choices, and energy intake differ by type of aerobic exercise. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the acute effects of duration- and energy expenditure (EE)-matched running vs. cycl...     »