High-Intensity Exercise: Your Secret Weapon Against Cravings!

Did you know that working up a sweat can actually help curb your appetite? According to new research, high-intensity exercise doesn’t just boost your fitness—it also acts as a natural appetite suppressant! So, if you’re looking to stay fit and keep cravings in check, ramping up your workout could be your new go-to solution. Read on to find out how a little extra effort in the gym could make a big difference in your cravings game!

A recent study has found that high-intensity exercise doesn’t just work wonders for fitness; it may also help curb hunger, particularly for women! Published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, the research dives into how intense workouts influence the hormone ghrelin—often called “the hunger hormone”—which plays a big role in stimulating our appetites.

What’s especially interesting is that while previous studies explored exercise and appetite, most focused on men or only measured one type of ghrelin, known as acylated ghrelin (AG). This new study went further by including another form of the hormone, deacylated ghrelin (DAG), giving a more complete view of how exercise affects hunger. The results showed that higher-intensity exercise can suppress both types of ghrelin, reducing hunger signals—and this effect was even stronger in women.

Though there’s still plenty to learn about how exercise affects appetite in both men and women, these findings add a new layer to our understanding of fitness and hunger. So, if you’re looking for a workout that boosts your fitness and keeps those cravings in check, high-intensity exercise might just be the answer!

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live”  – Jim Rohn Ro

How Exercise Impacts the ‘Hunger Hormone’

Did you know that exercise can actually impact your hunger? It’s a bit of a mixed bag—while workouts can make you feel hungrier due to the extra calories burned, they can also have the opposite effect and suppress hunger. Researchers believe this comes down to how exercise affects a key hormone called ghrelin, also known as the “hunger hormone.”

In a recent study, scientists explored this by examining how different types of exercise influence ghrelin in 14 young adults (8 men and 6 women) with an average body mass index (BMI) around 22. Each participant took part in three different sessions: one with no exercise, one with moderate exercise, and one with high-intensity exercise. Before and after each session, researchers measured levels of two forms of ghrelin—acylated ghrelin (AG) and deacylated ghrelin (DAG)—along with total ghrelin and lactate, which indicates muscle fatigue.

The findings? High-intensity exercise suppressed DAG in both men and women, but women showed a significant decrease in AG, potentially because they started with higher baseline ghrelin levels than men. However, the researchers noted an interesting twist: despite the changes in ghrelin levels, participants didn’t necessarily feel less hungry.

“There’s still a lot of research to be done, but this study suggests that men and women may respond differently to exercise, particularly when it comes to ghrelin and hunger,” says Kara Anderson, PhD, the study’s lead author.

While the exact reasons behind exercise’s appetite-suppressing effects are still being explored, these findings highlight how differently our bodies can respond to physical activity—and just how complex the relationship between exercise and hunger truly is.