Acute intense exercise improves sleep and decreases next morning consumption of energy‐dense food in adolescent girls with obesity and evening chronotype

Summary Background Although adolescence and obesity are related to impaired sleep duration and quality, exercise was admitted as a nonpharmacological treatment for sleep and better control of energy balance. Objectives To investigate the acute effects of intense exercise on sleep and subsequent dietary intake. Methods Sixteen adolescent girls with obesity (age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, weight 82.7 ± 10.2 kg, body mass index (BMI) 30.5 ± 3.4 kg/m 2 , fat mass (FM) 39.2 ± 3.1%, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) 8.6 ± 2.8, paediatric daytime sleepiness scale (PDSS) 19.6 ± 5.9) took part in two experimental sessions in a random order: Control (CTL) and Exercise (EX). The two sessions were identical except for a continuous ergocycle exercise bout lasting 40 minutes and performed at 70% VO 2max at the end of the morning of EX. Energy expenditure and sleep were measured by accelerometry and next‐morning dietary intake in an ad libitum meal. Results Higher sleep duration ( P < 0.03) and quality (decreased WASO: P < 0.02; increased SE%: P < 0.02) were observed in EX compared with CTL. This was associated with a nonsignificant decrease in caloric intake (−78 kcal) and a significant decrease in food energy density ( P < 0.04), fat, and sugar consumption (respectively, P < 0.02 and P < 0.05) the following morning. Conclusions Acute exercise efficaciously increased sleep duration and quality, resulting in a decrease in subsequent energy‐dense food consumption in adolescent girls with obesity.