Are Post-Exercise Appetite Sensations and Energy Intake Coupled in Children and Adolescents?

Abstract

The effect of physical activity on energy balance is not restricted to its induced energy expenditure but also affects the control of energy intake and appetite. Although it is now clear that physical exercise affects subsequent energy intake and appetite, the mechanisms involved remain uncertain. Most previous studies have assessed both post-exercise energy intake and appetite but mainly focussed their analyses on food consumption, and it remains unclear whether changes in appetite provide an accurate reflection of changes in energy intake. This brief review aims to analyse conjointly the effective energy intake and appetite sensation responses to acute exercise in children and adolescents to examine whether or not these responses to exercise are coupled. After an overview of the available literature, we conclude that acute exercise has an uncoupling effect on energy intake and appetite sensations in both lean and overweight/obese youth. Although methodological issues between studies can be highlighted, lack of consideration of inter-individual variability in terms of energy intake and appetite could be one of the main explanations for such a conclusion. It now appears necessary to further consider the impact of acute exercise and then chronic physical activity on an individual basis in the regulation of energy balance to prescribe successful weight loss programmes.

Active video games and energy balance in male adolescents: a randomized crossover trial

“…The lack of a significant difference in appetite sensations between the conditions is in line with previous research that showed that seated video games do not increase hunger sensations (3) and that appetite sensations also do not differ after exercise interventions in adolescents (11). The addition of measures of appetite hormones in the current study would allow for further exploration of these results.…”

“…According to exercise intervention studies, the time frame for compensation (if it occurs) has not yet been clearly established but can range from hours to over several days (9)(10)(11)15). Participants were instructed on how to complete the dietary record and on how to measure quantities of ingested foods.…”

“…However, a significant increase in energy expenditure as a result of AVG play might be of little importance to prevent weight gain if one compensates by increasing energy intake, decreasing physical activity, or both subsequent to the activity. This issue is of particular importance in the field of obesity prevention and management because acute exerciseinduced increases in energy expenditure are generally accompanied by compensatory adjustments in energy intake that can range from hours to several days after the intervention (9)(10)(11).…”

Reduced neural responses to food cues might contribute to the anorexigenic effect of acute exercise observed in obese but not lean adolescents

“…This absence of post-exercise modification of the EI derived from each macronutrient remains difficult to interpret due to limited and contradictive results in this population [11,18,27,28]. Our results regarding appetite feelings confirm once more the previously described “uncoupling effect” of acute exercise on appetite sensations and EI [29], since hunger, satiety or prospective food consumption were not modified by exercise in either lean or obese adolescents. This was despite the fact that obese adolescents showed a decrease in EI following EX compared to CON.…”

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of energy and macronutrient intake responses to physical activity interventions in children and adolescents with obesity

“…Interestingly, the reduction in energy intake observed in obese adolescents is not accompanied by any modification of their subjective sensations of motivation to eat (e.g. hunger and satiety) .…”