By Emma Cale. Emma Cale. Emma Cale has been writing professionally since Swimming burns a significant number of calories. Video of the Day.
Calories Burned. Water Temperature. Swimming Stroke. We therefore decided to compare the effects of swimming versus cycling and rest control. We found that appetite and food intake were increased after swimming in both males and females. We recruited 32 healthy adults under the age of 40 years 17 men and 15 women who were able to swim and cycle at a recreational — rather than elite — level.
None of the participants were obese. And because the menstrual cycle can influence appetite, we made sure female participants exercised during the same part of their cycle each month and were not pregnant. The participants completed all three trials swimming, cycling, or resting in a random order, separated by at least four days — so the effects of the prior trial no longer remained.
Participants were provided with a set breakfast strawberry jam sandwich, croissant and orange juice which they ate at home between am and am. Once they arrived at the laboratory, we measured their appetite using a scale at multiple times throughout the day. The participants rested throughout all three trials, except when performing 60 minutes of cycling or swimming in the exercise trials. The exercise sessions began 90 minutes after breakfast. The swimming and cycling sessions were split into six intervals, each lasting eight minutes with two minutes of rest between intervals.
We found that the participants ate more during the swimming trial, which on average was kcal more than in the control trial. This is equivalent to a 25g packet of crisps or two digestive biscuits.
Studies looking into the effects of different sports on weight loss provide evidence against the possibility of the availability of vending machines, as researchers present participants with the same buffet options after exercise. Increased appetite after swimming has led to a number of studies concluding that swimming is a less effective weight loss intervention than walking or cycling of a similar intensity — regardless of the availability of food [1]. The front crawl for example recruits muscles from the chest and lats, whereas the butterfly will target the shoulders, chest, and back.
In one training session a swimmer will typically engage a significantly greater proportion of their muscles than athletes from other sports, such as cycling. The energy expenditure spread over a number of muscle groups is one potential explanation for increased appetite.
Interestingly, and in contrary to the above theory, when researchers measured energy expenditure in relation to body mass across a number of sports, swimming ranked among the lowest — despite using more muscle groups. It therefore appears that although swimming might utilise more muscle groups, this does not correlate with total energy expenditure.
An interesting theory behind the increased appetite after swimming is that a session will typically last longer than in other sports. A swimmer may spend three to four hours in and around the pool, whereas those cycling, running, or playing football, will rarely be exercising for more than two hours. This effect can be explained by hormonal changes suppressing appetite during exercise. This appetite suppression is an important evolutionary trait, as it means that we can sustain exercise for a prolonged period without needing to break for food.
The exact mechanism behind this finding, and even the hormones involved, is still not fully understood. While a concise theory, the difference in total exercise time can be easily debunked using the same method as the availability of food — directly comparing athletes undertaking different sports, while controlling the variables.
In this case, the amount of time spent exercising can be controlled, and interestingly swimmers are still noted to have an increased appetite compared to other athletes, and so there must be a more significant factor.
There is some logic to the theory, but swimmers are exercising — which means generating heat — can cold water really have that much effect? As it turns out, cold water is the most significant factor in post-exercise increased appetite, to a much greater degree than cold air.
The results of this study were mirrored by another looking at cyclists submerged in varying temperatures of water, compared to those on land [5]. Interestingly, cyclists submerged in warm water ate the least calories — even less than those on land — suggesting that temperature plays a larger role in post-exercise appetite than previously thought.
There are several explanations for why the temperature of water has such a pronounced effect on appetite. The most logical is that in cold water your body has to work harder to regulate your body temperature, through compensatory mechanisms. So how does this affect the average swimmer? It means that you need to prepare healthy snacks for after a swimming session, unless you have access to the equipment required to heat the pool to room temperature!
Weight loss without dietary restriction: efficacy of different forms of aerobic exercise. Am J Sports Med, 15 3 , Food and fitness: a dictionary of diet and exercise. Oxford University Press. Exercise-induced suppression of appetite: effects on food intake and implications for energy balance.
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