What Is the Safest Form of Appetite Suppressant?

Looking for a way to suppress your appetite? A variety of pills make big claims, but many are unsafe. The safest form of appetite suppressant is no secret at all: It's exercise.

How Does Exercise Suppress Appetite?

• Exercise appears to suppress appetite by regulating hormones and blood protein levels. How exercise affects your particular body depends on whether you are thin or overweight, how often you exercise and what types of exercises you perform.

Exercise Regulates Appetite Hormones

• A 2008 study by Loughborough University, in the United Kingdom, found that aerobic exercise increases your body's production of the hormones ghrelin and peptide YY, which control appetite. This was shown to be true in normal weight but not overweight people, as overweight people were less hungry even before exercising.

Exercise Results in Higher Levels of Important Blood Protein

• For overweight people, a study at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital found that exercise can suppress appetite by increasing the levels of a blood protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Participants who had higher concentrations of BDNF were less hungry.

What Types of Exercise Suppress Appetite?

• Aerobic exercise, as opposed to weight training, is responsible for suppressing appetite. This is true in thin and overweight individuals alike. Jogging, swimming, inline skating and biking are examples of aerobic exercise.

How Safe is Exercise?

• Regular exercise usually is safe. If you have existing health problems or are significantly overweight, consult your doctor, nutritionist or personal trainer to design a program that is right for you. However, in addition to regulating your body, exercise also helps you burn calories faster, which results in weight loss as well. And exercise fuels energy and raises your self-esteem. So stop waiting for a magic pill--find an exercise program that's right for you!