The allure of a donut or burger can test the resolve of even the most hardcore dieters, but a new study has hinted at new tools that can help us resist temptation. The research explores how exercise can reduce cravings for fatty foods, demonstrating in rodents how bouts of high-intensity activity can dampen these tendencies and promote healthier eating.
The study, conducted by scientists at Washington State University, focuses on what’s called “desire incubation,” which refers to the idea that the longer we’re denied something, the more we want it. Originally coined by scientists studying cocaine addictionin the context of diet, it could mean that it’s harder to say no to ice cream and fries the longer we keep eating kale and celery.
The scientists set out to explore the potential of exercise to help us ignore the cues that can lead to unhealthy eating. This could be a TV commercial for hamburgers that makes us pick up the phone to place an order, or a billboard that directs us to drive-thru. To do so, the team trained rats to seek out high-fat meal pellets by pressing a lever, which turned on a light and emitted a tone to act as a signal before dispensing it.
The rats were put on a 30-day diet with no access to the pellets and were divided into two groups, one was put through regular high-intensity treadmill running and the other was left alone to perform their usual activity. After the diet period was over, the rats were giving access to the lever once again, but this time it did not dispense pellets when pressed and only turned on the light and sounded the tone.
They then found that the non-exercising group of rats pressed levers significantly more than the exercising group, suggesting that the additional physical activity had suppressed their cravings for the high-fat meal. The results raise some exciting possibilities, but the scientists stress that this rodent research is still in its early stages. The next steps are to focus on the effects of different types of exercise on the “incubation of desire” as well as the mechanisms involved in the human brain.
“Exercise is beneficial from several perspectives: it helps with heart disease, obesity and diabetes; it might also help with the ability to avoid some of these maladaptive foods,” said study corresponding author Travis Brown. “We’re always looking for this magic pill of some sort, and exercise is right in front of us with all these benefits.”
The research was published in the journal Obesity.
Source: Washington State University
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