Any type of exercise is good for burning calories and boosting the metabolism. Even ten minute exercise sessions have some benefit; but when it comes to suppressing appetite and giving hunger pangs the heave-ho, aerobic exercise may be the best. A study published by the American Physiological Society compared the effects of an hour of aerobic exercise on a treadmill to a ninety minute weight lifting session. They found that participants who ran on the treadmill for an hour experienced a greater reduction in appetite than those who lifted weights for an hour-and-a-half.

Why is Aerobic Exercise Better?

The reason aerobic exercise curbs hunger pangs more effectively than weight lifting has to do with the effect each has on appetite suppressing hormones. The researchers in this study found that aerobic exercise alters the release of two hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, which help to curb hunger pangs and control appetite. Weight lifting only altered levels of ghrelin. Ghrelin is a hormone produced by cells in the lining of the stomach that blunts the appetite, while peptide YY is an appetite stimulator. Both of these hormones play an important role in appetite control.

Unfortunately, even aerobic exercise doesn’t curb hunger pangs for long. The effect seems to be limited to a one or two hour period after the exercise session is complete. Appetite suppression is greater when a more intense workout is done such as high intensity interval training. Hunger pangs are also curbed more when exercise takes place in a warm environment. In fact, swimming in a cold pool can actually stimulate appetite due to the drop in body temperature.

The Bottom Line

If you want to burn calories and curb hunger pangs at the same time, do an intense session of cardiovascular exercise. Running, fast walking, rope jumping, and fast cycling all work well for suppressing appetite. Even if you’re primarily interested in controlling appetite, be sure to follow up with a short strength training session to build lean body mass. This will give an additional boost to your metabolism and stimulate weight loss.