It is not necessary to exercise every day to maintain a consistently high level of metabolism.

A new study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center shows that neurons in mice that affect metabolism are active for up to two days after a workout. The study, published in the December issue of Molecular Metabolism, measured the effects of short-term and long-term exercise on two types of neurons that make up the melanocortin brain circuit, which is shared by both humans and mice. One type of neuron (POMC) is associated with decreased appetite, lower blood glucose levels, and higher energy burning upon activation; the other type (NPY/AgRP) increases appetite and decreases metabolism when activated.

The study found that even a single workout could increase the activity of POMC neurons and reduce that of NPY/AgRP neurons for up to two days. These changes have a longer lasting effect with more trainings.

The findings broaden the scientific understanding of the melanocortin brain circuit, which previous studies have shown can be altered by diet. The effect of the changed diet can be further enhanced by the presence of exercises.

My Body Creator allows a personalized training program to be added to the prepared individual diet. Users have the opportunity to generally choose whether to train at home or in the gym, as well as to select it for each individual workout.

References:

Zhenyan He, Yong Gao, Amber L. Alhadeff, Carlos M. Castorena, Yiru Huang, Linh Lieu, Sadia Afrin, Jia Sun, J. Nicholas Betley, Hongbo Guo, Kevin W. Williams. Cellular and synaptic reorganization of arcuate NPY/AgRP and POMC neurons after exercise. Molecular Metabolism, 2018