Post-exercise dietary strategies for regulating appetite in individuals with overweight

Abstract

Background: Evidence suggests that exercise, despite being recommended for weight management, is not effective for weight loss partially due to increased compensatory energy intake (EI). The impact of post-exercise diet on appetite and EI requires further investigation. Objective: To determine if specific post-exercise dietary strategies, including prebiotic supplementation or fasting, differentially modulate appetite and EI after an acute bout of exercise. Methods: In a randomized crossover study, individuals with overweight received one of three recovery beverages: 1) water control (FAST); 2) sweetened-milk (SM/FED); or 3) sweetened-milk + prebiotic (SM+P) after cycling for 45min (65-70% VO2peak). EI, subjective appetite, gastrointestinal feelings, and appetite-regulatory hormones were assessed. Results: Post-exercise prebiotic supplementation increased measures of satiety and decreased EI the day following exercise. Fasting temporarily increased post-exercise hunger, but did not modify EI. Conclusions: Both prebiotic supplementation and fasting modify the post-exercise appetite response. Prebiotics may help individuals with overweight reduce post-exercise EI.