Exercise modulates food reward: neurobiological mechanisms and implications for weight management (opens in new tab)

Exercise is widely recommended for body weight management and metabolic health, yet its effects are not explained by energy expenditure alone. Post-exercise food choice, hedonic eating, and compensatory energy intake may attenuate expected training benefits. Food reward, encompassing hedonic “liking” and motivational “wanting,” is therefore a useful framework for understanding variability in exercise-related weight outcomes. For this narrative review, the literature search was performed using...