A recent experiment, conducted by Brigham Young University (BYU), revealed that exercise may curb a person’s interest in food. Data compiled by James LeCheminant and Michael Larson monitored the neurological activity of 35 women as their brains responded to images of food. The participants were exposed to images on a morning when they exercised on a treadmill and on a morning when they did not exercise. The participants, 18 average weight women and 17 overweight women, also monitored their food intake and physical activity during the study.
The study revealed that neural brain waves were less responsive to food images after exercising, regardless of whether the women were a healthy weight or overweight. Additionally, the women not only ate less when they exercised they were also more active throughout the remainder of the day when they exercised.
The research suggested that exercise does not promote eating, and demonstrated that the neural waves in overweight and average weight individuals react the same way when a person exercises. The study did not explore the duration of time exercise will diminish the appetite. For more details about the experiment, see Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise or Science Daily.
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