Exercise. Our brains need it. Our bodies need it. We expect exercise to show results- with weight loss, with muscle tone- and it doesn’t always do so. It affects our blood pressure maintenance, keeps our cholesterol balance in check, reduces the risk of stroke and cardiac disease. It’s why we are supposed to exercise 2.5 hours over the course of a week; 60 minutes a day helps with weight loss. (I don’t think many of you are spending an hour a day exercising. Me, neither.) So far, I’m sure that nothing I’ve said surprises you.
So, it was with great interest to me that I found some newish research- in some out of the way journals. That it’s the kind of exercise we do that may make a difference- and for how long we keep it up. Yep. If we do the right kind of exercise, we can affect our hormones, which means that our body will use the food we eat differently.
First, we need to understand ghrelin, a newly found peptide we’ve only known about it for a decade or so. This hormone is secreted by the stomach and pancreas. It is an appetite regulating hormone, typically increasing before meals (telling us to eat) and decreasing after meals (telling us to stop), acting on the hypothalamus (brain).
Drs. Broom, Batterham, King, and Stensel (Loughborough University) presented their results that exercising on a treadmill for 60 minutes augmented the ghrelin and YY peptide levels; it took 90 minutes of weightlifting to yield those same results for ghrelin. (It didn’t affect the YY levels.) OK… that just demonstrates the capabilities of aerobic exercise, as far as I am concerned.
Drs. Hagobian, Sharoff, Stephens, Wade, Silva, Chipkin, and Braun (U Mass) were interested to see what happens hormonally, when sedentary folks follow exercise regimes and eat according to their own diets. They knew that men lose body fat and women don’t seem to do so. It turns out that ghrelin in women who are exercising gets elevated from pre-exercise levels; the levels in men remain stabilized as their routine progressed. (This meant that women maintained body fat while men did not.)
Drs. Larson-Meyer, Palm, Bansal, Austin, Hart, and Alexander (University of Wyoming) published in the Journal of Obesity their results with 19 women; 9 were marathoners and 10 were regular walkers. The runners all exhibited spikes in ghrelin levels- which would normally mean they would eat lots- but, they didn’t. Moreover, the runners consumed fewer calories than they expended during their exercise. This was attributed to other hormones that govern satiety that also were elevated in these women. But, the walkers did not have this concomitant rise in these satiety hormones- and did not have a muted response to food; no, they actually ate more calories than they expended.
Drs. Martins, Kjestrup, Mostad, and Kulseng (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) reported in Obesity Surgery results from patients who have undergone bariatric surgery (gastric bypass and other weight loss surgeries) and those who changed their lifestyles to lose weight.
Those who underwent bariatric surgery had elevated fasting ghrelin and obestatin (another hunger hormone- one that reverses the effects of ghrelin), while they were normal for those who adjusted their lifestyles to lose weight. But, the ratios between the two hormones were virtually identical in both groups.
Dr. Martins has been continuing this research of ghrelin, now in concert with an international group comprised of Drs. Kulseng, Rehfeld, King, and Blundell (Medicine and Science in sport & Exercise). They examined the effects of moderate exercise (equivalent to jogging) over some 12 weeks. At the end of that period, these 22 formerly sedentary (and overweight) folks began to adjust their eating habits- unconsciously.
The study involved the subjects being offered doctored milkshakes (607 calorie, maltodextrin-spiked or no added unflavored sweetener [246 calories]); however, this was a blind study which did not proffer the caloric value of the shakes to the subjects. Before the exercise regimen began, the subjects preferred the maltodextrin shakes; but after three months, they began choosing the lower calorie version. However, there was no correlation with the subjects’ hormone levels (obestatin or leptin).
These series of experiments mean that intense exercise over longer periods (of three or more months) was preferable to other exercise regimens for weight loss. And, body tone seems to be easier to control for men than women, when only exercise is considered.
So, can anyone find me the 5 minute exercise regime that will cause me to lose weight? That seems to be the new American dream… (It certainly will yield that person great American wealth.)
Good to know. I try to work out three times a week, but also to get moving for just a minute or two frequently during my sedentary day.
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Ah, a soul after my own heart, David!
I deliberately use the steps (going down…) instead of the elevator.
Unfortunately, there’s no short cut. I would argue that 60 minutes of continous strenous exercise is unnecessary. You can do 30 minutes of intense exercise varying your heart rate throughout and walk the dog/ take the stairs/ rake the leaves and get your other 30.
Those are great suggestions, Marie! Thanks for adding to the discussion and making things clearer.
Well, this is a timely post, Roy. I just got back from a Zumba class! I’ve struggled to find a regular exercise routine for most of my life. I am not one who loves to exercise. I have never found it to be anything other than a chore. My dog certainly gets me out walking for a couple of miles each day. I likely wouldn’t do it without the dog. We also recently joined our local YMCA, which has some fun classes that I’ve been doing, so that helps. Panic and anxiety also spurred my need for physical activity, so as much as I hate to say it, maybe there was some good to come out of that difficult time!
The more I read about exercise and it’s benefits for more than just body appearance, the more I’m willing to keep with it. Thanks for the interesting post!
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I am in the same boat, Suerae! And, that’s why I exercise (for my brain and to keep some semblance of motion in these old bones).
Ah – I’m not sure if this motivates me to go for that much-needed bike ride or not. I’m doing a google search on your 5-minute plan, which sounds quite doable. Thanks for making my brain exercise this Tuesday morning, like you usually do. Now that would be a scientific study – to watch what happens to my brain as I attempt to read your posts. You’re like my intellectual vitamin for the day. It’s good to be back.
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Thanks for my daily laugh, Debi!
I am glad you are back, as well… And, anytime you come up to the DC area, let me know, we can do the monuments, the Potomac, or the Bethesda lunch (that’s a 65 minute round trip bike ride to work off the lunch calories)…
Hi Roy,
I did see a documentary a while back which trumpeted new research suggesting that *very* short bursts of extremely intense activity can work as well if not better than the long slog stuff.
It may be that in the future we look back at the longer stuff as archaic!
I get a fair amount of exercise in with sport, running and good old walking!
Cheers, Gordon
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Very short bursts of activity- with less strenuous activity continuing in the interim (remote control button flipping does not so qualify!) – over the course of 30 min to 59 minutes does work effectively.
And, as I said to Janette, it’s about 6 miles of walking that does the trick.
I still think walking (at least 3 miles a day) is a very good way to keep your weight stable and stay in pretty condition. I have been doing this for years. I can’t jog because I have 2 metal plates in my right leg.
Sign me up for that 5 minute exercise regime! LOL
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I don’t disagree that walking is a way to keep your weight stable- but NOT to lose weight. And, it is SIX (6) miles that seems to be the magic number for full brain and health affects.
I will be certain to include you in the loop- as soon as I find- or perfect- that perfect 5 minute regime!
If it could be done in five minutes we would all be our normal weight, or maybe not. Every day there is a new plan, watch Dr. Oz. 4 out of 5 days a week his show has some new found berry or plant or fruit that will melt away the pounds. I do believe everyone is different and even if we did find the five minute exercise program, it wouldn’t work for over half the world.
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That’s a point, Chef William! And, for now, it means that I have to get on my bike or swim for 30 minutes as often as I can. Not just to keep my svelte figure ( 🙂 ), but to maintain my mental acuity.
I’m going to stick to my daily 5-6 mile walks. ♫I feel good ♫ 🙂
I’m envious of you, Cathy. Not of the time you can afford to such a walk- but that you can maintain the discipline to do so! (Your brain thanks you, too!)