regained less weight during the relapse period developed a lower 'defended' body weight burned more fat early in the day, and more carbohydrates later in the day accumulated fewer fat cells and less abdominal fat during relapse reduced the drive to overeat enhanced the ability to balance energy intake with energy expended

During feeding, the sedentary group preferentially burned carbohydrates while sending fat from the diet to fat tissue. This preferential fuel use stores more calories because it requires less energy to store fat than to store carbohydrates. In addition, burning away the body's carbohydrates may contribute to the persistent feeling of hunger and large appetite of the sedentary animals.

Exercise blunted this fuel preference, favoring the burning of fat for energy needs and saving ingested carbohydrates so that they could be used later in the day. Taken together, the exercise led to a much lower appetite and fewer calories ending up in fat tissue.

The researchers also found that exercise prevented the increase in the number of fat cells observed with weight regain in sedentary rats. In sedentary rats, a population of very small, presumably new, fat cells appears early in the relapse process. Small, new fat cells would not only accelerate the process of regain, but also increase fat storage capacity in the abdomen. It would also explain why sedentary rats overshoot their previous weight when they relapse.

Conventional wisdom holds that the number of fat cells is determined by genetics, rather than being regulated by diet or lifestyle. Because this effect of exercise is a novel finding, the team will do further research to demonstrate that exercise is, indeed, preventing the formation of new fat cells early in relapse and not simply altering the size of pre-existing fat cells.

Source: American Physiological Society