Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
- The study examined the dietary choices of students who were asked to begin regular workouts over a 15-week period.
- Although students were asked not to significantly change their diets, most began choosing healthier foods.
- Interestingly, the types of foods they chose seemed to be associated with the intensity and lengths of their workouts.
Many people want a healthier lifestyle, but working toward one can seem daunting because it usually involves simultaneously changing two sets of habits: diet and exercise. However, new research suggests regular exercise might be all you need to get both on track.
A new study, published in the International Journal of Obesity on January 18, asked 2,680 college students, who weren’t exercising regularly, to start doing aerobics workouts out for 30 minutes three times a week, for 15 weeks. The researchers also asked the participants to track what they ate each meal, but did not ask them to change their diets.
The participants did anyway: During the 15 weeks, the students generally ate more fruits, vegetables and low-fat foods, and less fried foods and soft drinks. They also ate less food overall. Why this happened is unclear, though past studies have suggested that exercise might stimulate the production of appetite-regulating hormones.
Of course, the reason might also be that people who exercise regularly don’t want unhealthy food to hinder their ability to work out, or maybe they avoid eating unhealthy food because it’d make their workouts seem like a waste. There’s also a phenomenon known as the transfer effect, which describes how the new skills or attitudes learned in one behavior…
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