Abstract
A healthy lifestyle is based on a correct diet and regular exercise. Little is known about the effect of different types of exercise on dietary preferences. To address the question of whether high-intensity interval training (HIIT) could modulate spontaneous food choices, an experimental study was carried out on 32 young, healthy normal-weight subjects. The spontaneous diet of each subject has been monitored over nine weeks of indoor-cycling training, divided into three mesocycles with an incremental pattern: total energy intake, macronutrients and micronutrients have been analysed. A two-way mixed model has been used to assess differences in dietary variables; a principal factor analysis has been performed to identify sample subgroups. An increased energy intake (+17.8% at T3; p < 0.01) has been observed, although macronutrients’ proportions did not vary over time, without differences between sexes. An increase of free fat mass was found in the last mesocycle (+3.8%), without an augmentation of body weight, when, despite the increased training load, a stabilization of energy intake occurred. Three different subgroups characterized by different dietary modifications could be identified among participants that showed a common trend towards a healthier diet. Nine weeks of HIIT promoted a spontaneous modulation of food choices and regulation of dietary intake in young normal-weight subjects aged 21–24. Importantly, this life-period is critical to lay the foundation of correct lifestyles to prevent metabolic diseases and secure a healthy future with advancing age.
Highlights
Physical exercise and nutrition are the two pillars of wellness on which correct lifestyle guidelines are based, it is undeniable that only a small proportion of the population in industrialized countries follows an active lifestyle
Several studies suggest that regular physical activity can positively affect eating behaviour and food choices in a healthy direction, helping in correcting inappropriate long-term eating habits [7]
We investigated whether a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program could play a role in modulating spontaneous food choices and how such food choices were more or less healthy
Summary
Physical exercise and nutrition (diet) are the two pillars of wellness on which correct lifestyle guidelines are based, it is undeniable that only a small proportion of the population in industrialized countries follows an active lifestyle. Regular exercise is currently adopted along with diet and eating habits modification to counteract obesity, even if further studies are needed to clarify if they work synergically but remain separate strategies, or if they track together and share the same neurobiological substrates and pathways. The wellness effects of physical exercise are already well known, improving the control of appetite-regulating hunger-satiety and psychological mechanisms. It is known that regular exercise positively influences mood and self-control in several areas and effectively counteracts binge eating in response to negative emotions [4,5]. Mechanisms involved in hunger–satiety are better regulated in active people in whom eating in response to negative emotions is less frequent. Several studies suggest that regular physical activity can positively affect eating behaviour and food choices in a healthy direction, helping in correcting inappropriate long-term eating habits [7]
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