Table 1.
Previous literature investigating the effects of physical exercise and stress on appetite-related variables.
| Authors (Year) | Participants | Experimental Design | Intervention | Stressor | Appetite-Related Variable | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor & Oliver (2009) [137] | 25 normal weight, regular chocolate eaters | Within subjects | Ex (15 min brisk walking) vs. Con (15 min quiet sitting) (pre-stressor) | Stroop colour-word interference task | Chocolate cravings | Exercise did not significantly reduce cravings (p = 0.06, moderate effect sizes) |
| Ledochowski et al. (2015) [138] | 47 overweight sugary snack eaters | Within subjects | Ex (15 min brisk walking) vs. Con (15 min quiet sitting) (pre-stressor) | Stroop colour-word interference task | Sugary snack cravings | Exercise significantly reduced cravings (p < 0.01) |
| Oh & Taylor (2012) [139] | 78 normal weight, regular chocolate eaters | 2 × 2 Factorial design | Ex (15 min brisk walking) vs. Con (15 min quiet sitting) (pre-stressor) | Stroop colour-word interference task (low and high demanding) | Ad libitum chocolate consumption | Exercise significantly reduced consumption after both low and high demand stress conditions (p < 0.01) |
| Horsch et al. (2015) [141] | 26 normal weight (NW), 24 overweight (OW) children | 2 × 2 Factorial design | NW Ex (30 min moderate intensity exercise) vs. NW Con (sedentary) vs. OW Ex (30 min moderate exercise) vs. OW Con (pre-stressor) | Trier Social Stress Test for children | Ad libitum food consumption | Exercise significantly reduced low-caloric salty food intake (p < 0.001) and tendency for lower overall carbohydrate intake (p = 0.07) |
| Neumeier et al. (2016) [143] | 38 normal weight university students | Between groups (with each group compared to their baseline rest) | Ex (15 min high intensity interval exercise) vs. Con (rest) (post-stressor) | Graduate entrance level reading comprehension problems and one college entrance math problem | Ad libitum pizza consumption | Con consumed significantly more calories compared to baseline rest (p = 0.02) but EX did not increase intake (p > 0.05) |
Note: Ex—Exercise condition, Con—Control condition.