Decreased Ghrelin And Increased PYY And GLP-1 Following Acute Aerobic Vs Resistance Exercise

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine if aerobic exercise (AEx) and resistance exercise (REx) differentially influence acute energy intake and appetite regulation. METHODS: Physically inactive adults with overweight/obesity (n=24, 35±1.7 yrs, BMI: 28.5±1.0 kg/m2; 50% female) completed 2 conditions; 1) AEx (treadmill walking at 65-70% of age-predicted maximum heart rate for 45 minutes) and 2) REx (1-set to failure of 12 resistance exercises). Each condition was initiated in the postprandial state (35 minutes post breakfast). Appetite (visual analog scale for hunger, satiety and prospective food consumption [PFC]) and hormones (ghrelin, PYY, and GLP-1) were measured before and every 30 minutes for 3 hours following consumption of the standardized breakfast meal. Post exercise food cravings (following 90 min VAS and blood draw via Food Cravings Inventory [FCI] questionnaire) and ad libitum energy intake at the lunch meal were also measured. RESULTS: There was no difference in post-exercise ad libitum energy intake between conditions (AEx: 937±65 kcal vs. REx: 991±68 kcal). There were also no differences in post exercise food cravings, nor area under the curve (AUC) for hunger, satiety, or PFC. However, there was a trend for higher satiety scores 150 min post breakfast in the REx condition (AEx: 35±4 mm vs. REx: 42±4 mm, p=0.08). AUC for ghrelin (AEx: 143,592±7,464 pg/mL vs. REx: 130,737±4,928 pg/mL, p=0.002), PYY (AEx: 23,812±1,592 pg/mL vs. REx: 20,540±1,177 pg/mL, p<0.001), and GLP-1 (AEx: 1,615±110 pg/mL vs. REx: 1,314±93 pmol/L, p<0.001 were all higher in the AEx condition compared to REx. For ghrelin and PYY, the higher AUC for AEx was due to greater values for all of the post-exercise time points evaluated (all p<0.05). For GLP-1, the higher AUC for AEx was due to significantly higher levels at the 90 minute postprandial time point (p<0.001), and a trend for greater levels at the 120 minute time point (p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that an acute bout of aerobic exercise appears to increase both ghrelin, an oreixgenic gut peptide, as well as PYY and GLP-1, anoretic gut peptides, compared to an acute bout of resistance exercise. However, acute ad libitum energy intake was not different between conditions. Future work is needed to determine if exercise modality influences chronic energy intake and appetite regulation.