Short Walks Quell Snacking Urges, Study

By R. Siva Kumar - 16 Mar '15 18:09PM

So you like to munch chocolate bars and fried chips between work----or meals.

It isn't as if you are inviting tragedy, but it sure makes things a bit worrisome, as you are opening access to obesity.

However, there is some good news. Research shows that short, quick spurts of physical activity---such as quick walks---can fight your cravings for sugary snacks.

A research team headed by Larissa Ledochowski from the University of Innsbruck in Austria concluded that a 15-minute walk brings down the desire for a sugary snack even for people who are "overweight, under pressure, and literally have candy available at the tips of their fingers," according to psmag.

The study is targeting the examination into the effects of acute exercise, as well as 'psychological and physiological responses' to stress in fat individuals.

For the experiment, 47 people were first deprived of chocolates. After three days of abstinence, the urge for chocolates and chips was assessed. Participants were asked to take a 15-minute brisk walk, and then told to finish two tasks.

One was stroop color or 'word interference' tasks, as well as handling sugary snacks. Information showed that exercise brings down the urge for sugary snacks, especially in overweight people, according to indianexpress.

Hence, exercise has a definite impact on the cravings for food. Both snacking and smoking could get impacted if you take a brief, brisk walk. While short bouts reduce the desire to snack, exercise also influences the moods of most people, according to books.google.

More investigation revealed that opening a bag of sugary food, and keeping it open tended to shoot up the pulse rate. Exposure high-calorie food also indicated a shooting in self-rated craving.

"When snacking has become habitual and poorly regulated by overweight people, the promotion of short bouts of physical activity could be valuable for reducing the urge to consume at times when the person may be particularly vulnerable," the researchers write in the online journal PLoS One.