Study: Treadmill use may help suppress appetites

BETHESDA, Md. A vigorous 60-minute workout on a treadmill is more likely to help people lose weight by suppressing appetite than 90 minutes pumping iron, the American Physiological Study announced earlier this month, citing results from a recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

This line of research may eventually lead to more effective ways to use exercise to help control weight, stated senior author David Stensel of Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.

There are several hormones that help regulate appetite, but the researchers looked at two of the major ones, ghrelin and peptide YY.

Ghrelin is the only hormone known to stimulate appetite. Peptide YY suppresses appetite.

Researchers found that the treadmill session caused ghrelin levels to drop and peptide YY levels to increase, indicating the hormones were suppressing appetite. However, a weight-lifting session produced a mixed result. Ghrelin levels dropped, indicating appetite suppression, but peptide YY levels did not change significantly.

“The finding that hunger is suppressed during and immediately after vigorous treadmill running is consistent with previous studies indicating that strenuous aerobic exercise transiently suppresses appetite,” Stensel said. “The findings suggest a similar, although slightly attenuated response, for weight lifting exercise.”