Question: Can exercise increase my appetite?

Answer: Naturally, your body wants to maintain its normal weight. As you burn more calories when you exercise, your biological mechanism will try to counterbalance this additional energy expenditure by increasing food intake. But if you haven't been very active before and have some fat stores to melt, starting an exercise program will not necessarily boost your appetite, as research have shown.

In fact, when sedentary overweight individuals began moving more, their energy intake was actually less which contributed to weight loss. Exercise, especially high-intensity activities, may curb your hunger and increase metabolism for some time due to its capacity to increase body temperature.

Just like the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) described above, physical activity heats up your core body temperature. As a result, the body tries to protect itself from overheating and suppresses the appetite-controlling centres in the hypothalamus of the brain. The effect of exercise on several hormones, such as epinephrine, also depresses the appetite and mobilizes available energy stores from fat and stored glucose in the body.

But there is another side to this question – will decrease in exercise cause you to eat less? Apparently no. If for some reason you start being less active, your appetite may stay the same or even greater than before. With lower energy expenditure and increase caloric intake you will eventually put on some body fat.

To combat the hunger struggle, try exercising before a meal – this may diminish your appetite and lead you to a smaller healthier snack instead of a large calorie-loaded meal. But if you use exercise as an excuse to eat more later on, then try other options, such as relaxation and conscious decision to keep food intake and exercise regime moderate.

By Elena Voropay