Research
Adherence
Psychological traits, specifically high Disinhibition and low Restraint, are associated with greater compensatory eating and poorer weight loss outcomes following exercise.
If you struggle with impulsive eating, exercise might help you gain better control over your food choices over time. Focus on building self-restraint, as this is linked to better weight loss results from exercise.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Individuals who showed a larger reduction in their level of Internal Disinhibition... experienced the greatest weight loss... those who lost less weight than expected (non-responders) experienced lower decreases in Disinhibition and increases in Restraint than those who lost equal to, or more than the expected weight (responders).
Why this rating
Based on multiple studies using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ).
Source
Exercise, appetite and weight management: understanding the compensatory responses in eating behaviour and how they contribute to variability in exercise-induced weight loss
N A King et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2011
DOI 10.1136/bjsm.2010.082495
narrative_reviewCited 166×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Acute exercise generally does not increase hunger or energy intake, and chronic supervised exercise in overweight/obese individuals typically fails to trigger compensatory increases in energy intake sufficient to negate the energy deficit, although individual variability exists.Good
- Individual variability in exercise-induced weight loss is significant, with some individuals losing very little weight ('non-responders') despite high adherence, often due to compensatory increases in energy intake or changes in food preference.Good
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →