GETTY IMAGES Who needs Ozempic to stop feeling hungry? Yes, the active ingredient semaglutide in the weight loss wonder drug helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer, but emerging research shows there are plenty of natural strategies that work when it comes to keeping hunger at bay without resorting to drugs.

A workout is one way to keep the lid on excess calories according to a recent study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, with researchers from the University of Virginia finding that a bit of sweaty effort at the gym significantly reduced levels of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone.

Kara Anderson, a researcher in endocrinology and metabolism at Virginia and lead author of the paper, says high-intensity exercise has the greatest effect on appetite, her study showing that people felt “less hungry” after a vigorous gym session — in this case, a hardcore indoor bike session in which the intensity was increased every three minutes until they felt too tired to continue — compared with moderate-intensity exercise that would equate to a gentle jog or yoga class. Levels of ghrelin dropped in all participants after the hard workouts, although the effect was more pronounced in women.

“Exercise should be thought of as a ‘drug’, where the ‘dose’ should be customised based on an individual’s personal goals,” Anderson says. “Our research suggests that high-intensity exercise may be important for appetite suppression, which can be particularly useful as part of a weight loss programme.”

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It’s not the first time tough workouts have been shown to stem appetite. David Stensel, professor of exercise metabolism at Loughborough University, and his team have previously shown that intense exercise not only reduces ghrelin but also elevates levels of the hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) that makes you feel full by slowing down stomach emptying and suppressing appetite.

Semaglutide works by mimicking the effects of GLP-1. A downside with exercise is that the impact on hormone levels are short-lived with most reverting to normal within 60 minutes or so after a workout. This means that regular […]

How to control your appetite without Ozempic