Response to ‘Post-exercise energy load and activities may affect subsequent ad libitum energy intake’

Abstract

As pointed out by Thivel et al., the use of the fixed caloric load in the form of a liquid meal was to allow for a standardized comparison of the appetite-related blood variables. The authors suggest that the participants may have experienced different digestive acceptances and gastric emptying rates of the liquid meal, which may have affected energy intake in the subsequent ad libitum meal. While there is some evidence to suggest that gastric emptying may be affected by the intensity of exercise during exercise, there has been minimal research examining gastric emptying rates post exercise. The limited evidence available suggests that there are no differences in gastric emptying rates after either rest compared with low-intensity and high-intensity exercise. Regardless, any effect on gastric emptying rate does not change the conclusion that participants consumed less following high-intensity intermittent exercise—it simply offers an alternative explanation for the mechanism underlying this effect