The 1983 C.H. McCloy Research Lecture Appetite and Body Composition Consequent to Physical Activity

Body composition has become a major field of interest for many exercise and sport scientists as well as clinicians who specialize in the prevention of and rehabilitation from hypokinetic diseases. This review article discusses the state of the art within selected areas of body composition, including the following: exercise in appetite regulation, the use of body density to estimate relative body fat in selected populations, the use of anthropometric equations to estimate body composition, and alterations in body composition with exercise training. It was concluded that acute bouts of exercise may have short term anorexigenic effects, but that alterations in appetite with extended periods of training are less clearly defined. Exercise training does result in modest decreases in total and fat weight and in relative body fat, and small increases in lean body weight. However, these alterations are not substantial. Finally, major research efforts are needed to improve methodology in body composition assessment.