post -exercise energy load and activities may affect subsequent ad libidum energy intake

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Post-exercise energy load and activities may affect subsequent ad

libitum energy intake

International Journal of Obesity (2014) 38, 750; doi:10.1038/ ijo.2013.166

Sim et al.1 recently proposed an interesting paper addressing the effect of intensive intermittent exercises on subsequent energy intake, appetite feelings and appetite-related hormones in sedentary overweight men. Although this paper adds some important results to the actual literature, we believe that some methodological issues have to be pointed and considered when interpreting their results.

The authors found that total ad libitum energy intake after high-(HI) and very high-intensity (VHI) intermittent exercises was lower compared with a moderate-intensity continuous exercise (CM) and a rest session. First, the exercises were realized in the fasting state and the authors chose to provide participants with a standardized liquid meal about 5 min after the exercises (or rest), which the participants had to consume within 2 min. Although we understand that a ﬁxed energy load offered right after the exercises or rest was done in order to explore the appetite-related hormone responses, it may have affected the results obtained on the following ad libitum test meal. The participants may have experienced different digestive acceptances of this energy load between conditions due to the different exercise intensities or duration for instance, which may have created some stomach discomfort. It is also possible that the gastric impact of those exercise characteristics may have differently affected their gastric emptying, which has been suggested to explain post-exercise individual variability in terms of energy consumption and appetite feelings.2 Another methodological point that we would like to underline concerns the context and content of the meal. Sim et al.1provided the participants with a single dish (porridge made from a standardized mixture of instant oats) and then no choice was possible while it has been shown that acute exercise, depending on its duration or intensity, may modify individuals’ food choices.3Mainly, the repetition of this unique meal may have conducted to a reduction of its consumption during the last experimental sessions. In line with this comment, the fact the participants had only 20 min to consume their test meal may have interfered with the real impact of the exercises in terms of food intake. Finally, King et al.4 have underlined an inter-individual variability in terms of eating duration and episodes after exercise and showed that restricting participants to eat (limited time for instance) affects the results.

Mainly, the authors indicate that the participants were free to engage in sedentary activities such as reading or using computers between the end of the exercise and the test meal (for 70 min). According to the actual literature concerning the impact of daily

activities on energy consumption, it can be argued that the assessed energy intake during their test meal was more affected by those sedentary activities than exercises themselves.5–7

Effectively, the stimulating effect of screen- or knowledge-based activities on energy intake has been pointed out at several occasions.5,8

Although Sim et al.1present important and interesting results regarding the impact of high- and very high-intensity intermittent exercises on appetite-related hormones in overweight sedentary men, we collectively think that their design does not allow accurate interpretation regarding subsequent appetite feelings and ad libitum energy intake.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conﬂict of interest.

D Thivel1, P Duche1and B Morio2,3

1

Clermont University, Blaise Pascal University, Laboratory of the Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise under Physiological and Pathological Conditions (AME2P), Aubie`re, France;

2

INRA, UMR1019 Human Nutrition, CRNH Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France and

3

Clermont Universite´, Universite´ d’Auvergne, UMR1019 Nutrition Humaine, Clermont-Ferrand, France E-mail: David.thivel@univ-bpclermont.fr

REFERENCES

1 Sim AY, Wallman KE, Fairchild TJ, Guelﬁ KJ. High-intensity intermittent exercise attenuates ad-libitum energy intake. Int J Obes (Lond) 2014; 38: 417–422. 2 King NA, Horner K, Hills AP, Byrne NM, Wood RE, Bryant E et al. Exercise, appetite

and weight management: understanding the compensatory responses in eating behaviour and how they contribute to variability in exercise-induced weight loss. Br J Sports Med 2011; 46: 315–322.

3 Klausen B, Toubro S, Ranneries C, Rehfeld JF, Holst JJ, Christensen NJ et al. Increased intensity of a single exercise bout stimulates subsequent fat intake. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999; 23: 1282–1287.

4 King JA, Wasse LK, Stensel DJ. Acute exercise increases feeding latency in healthy normal weight young males but does not alter energy intake. Appetite 2012; 61: 45–51.

5 Chaput JP, Klingenberg L, Astrup A, Sjodin AM. Modern sedentary activities promote overconsumption of food in our current obesogenic environment. Obes Rev 2011; 12: e12–e20.

6 Chaput JP, Klingenberg L, Sjodin A. Do all sedentary activities lead to weight gain: sleep does not. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2010; 13: 601–607.

7 Thivel D, Tremblay MS, Chaput JP. Modern sedentary behaviors favor energy consumption in children and adolescents. Curr Obes Rep 2012; 2: 50–57. 8 Chaput JP, Tremblay A. Acute effects of knowledge-based work on feeding

behavior and energy intake. Physiol Behav 2007; 90: 66–72.

Accepted article preview online 4 September 2013; advance online publication, 8 October 2013