A recent study, led by A. Veronica Araya, MD, showed that aerobic exercise reduces appetite by increasing the level of BDNF (a brain derived neurotrophic factor related to obesity and metabolism) in the bloodstream.
The results of the study indicates that an increase in BDNF results in an unconscious reduction in appetite.
The Study
In the study, 15 participants were asked to maintain their current diet while participating in a three month program of aerobic exercise.
At the end of the study, the two legged guinea pigs reported a reduction in perceived appetite as well as the actual amount of calories ingested.
This led to an overall reduction in BMI, waist circumference and blood pressure.
Most importantly, the participants with the highest concentration of BDNF showed the sharpest reduction in calories and the greatest loss of body-fat.
What does this mean?
I don’t know…yet.
At the present time, I see at least two problems with this study.
- The small sample size – 15 overweight test subjects does not excite Big Pharma. However, based on the results alone, these researchers should have little trouble finding more investors for a new, larger study.
- The researchers did not test appetite suppression directly. In this study, the participants were unaware that one of the objectives was to evaluate changes in appetite and caloric intake. Once again, Big Pharma would not be impressed.
Conclusion
This was a small study. Well, so was Isaac Newton’s epiphany about gravity.
Small studies lead to big studies.
Current research into obesity is progressing at a ridiculous pace. Just think about it; the company that can patent an effective weight loss drug with no scary side effects (see Fen-Phen) will make an obscene amount of money.
BDNF may not be the answer, but the fact that this study has shown it to be a marker of appetite suppression is a good thing.
In the future, a blood test for BDNF sensitivity may be able to tell your doctor whether or not aerobic exercise will help you lose weight.
Who knows, maybe some smartypants will come up with a synthetic form of BDNF and we can all get the appetite squashing benefits of a good cardio workout while sitting on the couch.
Keep dreaming.
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I’ve never heard this before. Perhaps it is only with people who are very overweight? I’m personally no overweight and when I exercise, my metabolism immediately increases, which in turn causes me to need more calories and increases my appetite.
Athy,
The science is still a little sketchy on this subject.
There are also some big differences in hormone profiles between lean and obese subjects. Further studies into this subject are looking into these differences and how exercise manifests itself in the expression of these hormones.
It’s still pretty cloudy, but at least they are looking at exercise rather than trying to find another magic weight loss pill.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Have been searching for some decent information on this for awhile now thats for the great article.