Diet & Health News

Controlling Hunger Hormones Ghrelin And Peptide YY With Exercise

May 29, 2009
By J White

To say controlling appetite is a vital key in weight loss is an understatement no matter how it is phrased. If you want to lose weight, you have to manage your appetite.

One way to control your appetite is by exercising. By exercising, your body is able to suppress your hunger by effecting the hormones ghrelin and peptide YY that are produced in the your stomach. The hormone ghrelin is known to stimulate appetite, while the hormone peptide YY is known to suppress it.

This observation leads to an important question. Which exercises are better at effecting these hunger related hormones: aerobic or non-aerobic exercises?

The Study

To determine this, a study was conducted that compared a vigorous 60 minute workout on a treadmill with a 90 minutes session of weight lifting.v

In one part of the study, the participants exercised on the treadmill and then rested for 7 hours. On another part of the study, the participants lifted weights and then rested 6 hours and 30 minutes. As a control, there was another part of the study where the participants did not exercise.

To measure their hunger, the researchers had the participants fill out a survey to rate their hunger and measured the hormones ghrelin and peptide YY. They were also fed two meals during the session.

The Results

From the results, the researchers discovered that during the aerobic or treadmill portion of the study, ghrelin decreased, while the peptide YY increased. This indicates that their appetites were being suppressed.

However, during the weight lifting portion of the session, only levels of the hormone ghrelin, which dropped, were effected, which indicated appetite suppression. Peptide YY levels were not effected.

Based on the surveys, both aerobic and weight lifting suppressed their hunger, but the aerobic exercise produced a greater suppression of their hunger. The researchers also observed that these changes lasted about two hours for both exercises, including the time spent exercising.

Your Plan of Action

So for a greater suppression of your hunger, go with vigorous aerobic training. It not only suppresses the hormone ghrelin, which tells your brain it’s time to eat, but it also increases peptide YY, whose function is to suppress your appetite.

However, do not think that lifting weights are no longer necessary. Along with the suppression of ghrelin, this is still the best way to maintain and build muscle mass. And remember, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body burns throughout your day.

Sources:
American Physiological Society (2008, December 19). Exercise Suppresses Appetite By Affecting Appetite Hormones. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/12/081211081446.htm

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