Hormonal
Chronic aerobic exercise induces a significant increase in fasting plasma ghrelin levels proportional to the magnitude of weight loss, independent of changes in caloric intake.
If you start an aerobic exercise program and lose weight, your body will naturally increase hunger hormones (ghrelin) to try to regain the weight. This happens even if you don't change your diet. Expect to feel hungrier as you lose weight; this is a normal biological signal, not a sign that your exercise routine is failing.
Exercise-induced weight loss was associated with a progressive increase in plasma ghrelin levels over baseline, achieving statistical significance at 12 months... Ghrelin levels increased commensurately with the amount of weight lost... There was no change in caloric intake in either group and no effect on ghrelin of exercise per se independent of its impact on body weight.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with a large sample size (n=173) and long duration (12 months), though self-reported diet introduces minor measurement error.
Source
Human Plasma Ghrelin Levels Increase during a One-Year Exercise Program
Karen E. Foster‐Schubert et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2005
DOI 10.1210/jc.2004-2081
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