(07-12-11) How Exercise Actually Makes You Eat Better

by Jeff Jurmain, MA

Exercise and a healthy diet go together like cheese and wine (though they are
a bit better for you). The two, in tandem, represent the main ways you could
prevent disease and keep your body running smoothly. We've known this for a
long time now, but now we know that increasing your physical activity may
improve your diet.

A lot of questions arise when trying to shed pounds. Should you start on a
diet, then incorporate exercise? Or the other way around? Understanding the
interaction between exercise and eating right could improve the ways we treat
and prevent obesity.

Data from studies suggest that tendencies towards a healthy diet and the right
amount of physical exercise often go hand in hand. An improvement in exercise
is usually tethered to a parallel improvement in diet quality.

Exercise also brings benefits, such as an increase in sensitivity to
physiological signs of fullness. This means you could better control your
appetite.

Eating and physical activity are behaviors and are influenced by certain areas
of the brain. Previous studies have already assessed changes in the brain and
cognitive functions in relation to exercise: regular physical exercise causes
changes in the working and structure of the brain.

These changes can lead to interesting results. Regular exercise can improve
the brain's executive functions and increase the amount of grey matter and
prefrontal connections. While that is a bit technical, here is the takeaway
message: it is linked to inhibition control. This is an executive function that
exercise can impact. It is the ability to suppress the desire to overeat or eat
unhealthy foods -- essentially to restrict negative dietary behaviors.

Those looking to shed pounds (and who isn't?), studies show that inhibition
control and greater function in the brain's prefrontal areas could be the keys
to success. This success is mainly the fruit of a behavioral change. Inhibitory
control could also help to prevent weight gain in healthy people.

Resist temptations by exercising. It's proven to happen in our brains.

Source: R. J., Joseph, et al., "The neurocognitive connection between physical
activity and eating behavior," Obesity Reviews, Oct. 2011; 12: 800.

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