Commentary: Exercise can reduce junk food cravings and prevent stress eating
LONDON, Canada: Every January, millions of individuals make New year's resolutions to lose weight or eat healthier, if non both.
To reach this goal, many individuals will begin strenuous exercise programmes that contain too much exercise too soon, leading to fitness burnout or injury. Overtraining can actually foreclose you from losing weight.
The truth is that you simply cannot exercise away a poor nutrition and look to lose weight (if that is your goal).
Humans are very adept at conserving energy and will account for any calories burned through do by consuming more calories later in the solar day or by being less physically active throughout the remainder of the 24-hour interval.
That being said, you can — and should — use exercise to aid you lose weight and maintain your weight loss. Just non to offset calories consumed.
If you are looking to lose weight, the only manner to do it is by decision-making your calorie intake. The all-time and almost effective way of doing that is limiting the consumption of ultra-processed foods — typical "junk foods" and fast-food meals.
Even if you are not trying to lose weight, reducing ultra-processed food consumption is adept for mental and concrete health.
Regular exercise makes it easier to do this by improving the brain and cognitive processes that assist us regulate junk food consumption, and by reducing stress.
And the best office is, as footling as xx minutes of brisk walking is all you need to go the beneficial effects.
WHY WE OVER-CONSUME JUNK FOODS
We know that we shouldn't overeat candy, cookies, cake and chips, or beverage sugary sodas. Diets that are high in these ultra-candy foods cause the states to gain weight. Just they are just so hard to resist.
Ultra-candy junk foods accept been designed to be as tasty and rewarding as possible.
When we are exposed to advertisements, or actual nutrient items (for example, chocolate bars in the checkout lane at grocery stores), brain activeness in regions associated with advantage processing increases.
This reward-related brain activity results in increased nutrient cravings and the drive to eat, even when we are not hungry.
A brain region known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) helps u.s. limit the consumption of ultra-candy foods by both decreasing action in these reward regions to reduce food cravings and by initiating the cognitive processes needed to exert witting command over food choices.
When using functional brain imaging to examine encephalon responses, neuroscientists take shown that increased activity in the dlPFC helps u.s. control food cravings and select healthier nutrient items by decreasing activeness in the reward regions of the brain.
Conversely, when activeness in the dlPFC is decreased, nosotros take a harder time resisting the temptation of appealing junk foods and will consume more snack foods.
EXERCISE CAN Assist REGULATE Nutrient CONSUMPTION
Practice boosts brain plasticity, which is the brain'due south ability to conform its functions based on new input. Boosting brain plasticity makes it easier to change our habits and lifestyle.
More than and more testify has shown that regular physical activity tin increment prefrontal brain function and amend cognition.
These do-induced increases in prefrontal brain function and cognition makes it easier to regulate or limit our consumption of junk foods. And we can see the effects with as little every bit xx minutes of moderate intensity practice.
I accept shown that people consume less ultra-candy nutrient such as chips or milk chocolate after 20 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (in our report, this was a brisk walk at 5.half-dozen-vi.1 kilometres per hour on a treadmill with a slight incline).
Research has also shown that both a single session of loftier-intensity interval grooming and a 12-week loftier-intensity aerobic exercise program can reduce preferences or ambition for high-calorie junk foods.
Like furnishings are seen when people engage in moderate aerobic exercise or force training.
The cardinal takeaway here is that regular practise can reduce how much people desire junk foods and improve their ability to resist the temptation of these appealing foods by improving brain office and cognition.
This makes information technology easier to limit the consumption of these foods to achieve healthier eating and weight loss goals.
EXERCISE ALSO HELPS Us REDUCE STRESS
When people are stressed, the body releases a hormone called cortisol, which activates what is known as the fight-or-flying response.
When cortisol levels are loftier, the brain thinks it needs more fuel, resulting in increased cravings for sugary or salty ultra-processed foods.
Participation in regular exercise or a single bout of exercise reduces perceived stress levels and cortisol levels. Exercise also helps reduce unhealthy drink and food consumption when people are stressed.
Stress can besides impact how the brain functions. Inquiry has shown that stress can result in decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex and increased activeness in reward regions of the brain when looking at pictures of food. This makes it harder to resist the temptation of appealing junk foods.
By offsetting the impact of stress on prefrontal encephalon function, exercise makes information technology easier to maintain your goals of healthier eating or reducing junk food consumption.
Xx minutes of brisk walking tin help the prefrontal cortex recover from temporary changes in activity, similar the ones seen when people are stressed.
Adjacent time y'all are feeling stressed, endeavour going for a brisk xx-minute walk. Information technology could preclude you from stress-eating.
WHAT EXERCISE IS BEST?
Researchers ofttimes get asked what is the all-time exercise and how much do to exercise.
At the terminate of the day, the best exercise is one yous enjoy and can sustain over time.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT), aerobic exercise, meditation and mindfulness, yoga and forcefulness training are all effective in helping improve diet by targeting prefrontal brain function and reducing stress.
If yous are outset a new exercise routine this new year, ease into it, exist kind to yourself, listen to your body and remember that a little goes a long fashion.
Cassandra J Lowe is a postdoctoral fellow at The Brain and Mind Establish, Section of Psychology, Western Academy. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/junk-food-exercise-weight-loss-healthy-diet-calorie-intake-297116
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