Instead of working up an appetite, researchers have found that intensive exercise such as HIIT classes actually curb your hunger pangs.
Scientists at the University of Virginia have uncovered how different types of fitness classes can act similarly to skinny jabs like Ozempic, altering the affects of the hunger hormones in the body.
The study, published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, revealed that high-intensity spin classes may be more effective for reducing appetite in comparison to moderate cycling or no exercise at all.
Specifically, the scientists found that this type of high-energy activity reduces surpressed levels of ghrelin — the hormone that makes us hungry, and which is counteracted by the active ingredient in weight loss injections.
Ghrelin increases appetite by signalling to the brain when it’s time to eat. It’s released in the stomach when it’s empty or mostly empty.
Researchers recruited 14 adults between the ages of 18 and 55 — eight men and six women — who were not regular exercisers, but were healthy.
They were asked to fast overnight and avoid strenuous exercise, alcohol, tobacco and caffeine for 12 hours before each test.
Each person completed three experimental sessions; one where they rested without exercising, another with moderate-intensity cycling, and a third with high-intensity cycling.
Each person in the study completed three experimental sessions; one where they rested without exercising, another with moderate-intensity cycling, and a third with high-intensity cycling
To make sure each level of exercise suited to each participant, researchers noted at which point they started to breathe more heavily — a sign that the workout was challenging.
In the higher intensity group, participants cycled 75 per cent harder than their basic ‘challenging’ level, to make sure it was a strenuous workout.
Results showed that high intensity exercise suppressed ghrelin levels more than moderate intensity exercise.
When asked about hunger levels participants reported feeling less hungry after a more strenuous work out.
Researchers noted that more tests are needed to determine the optimal ‘dose’ of exercise for appetite control in different age groups.
‘We found that moderate intensity either did not change ghrelin levels or led to a net increase,’ study authors wrote.
Researchers explained that this suggests exercising above the lactate threshold — the point at which your muscles begin to fatigue rapidly during exercise — ‘may be necessary to elicit a suppression in ghrelin.’
‘Our findings suggest lactate may be involved in exercise-induced ghrelin suppression,’ study authors conclude.
‘Future work should focus on how obesity may modulate this pathway, and whether a chronic training program at differing exercise intensities mirror these results,’ they added.
It’s thought that at least 500,000 people in the UK are now using injections that manipulate hunger hormones in order to lose weight.
The jabs, which include Ozempic, WeGovy and Mounjaro, work by mimicking the effect of a hormone called GLP-1 which makes us feel full.
Studies show that, on average, those using the treatment shift roughly two stone in just over a year.
The jabs are also thought to reduce the risk of heart attacks by a fifth in obese patients.
