The relationship between exercise intensity, caloric intake, and weight

Two studies are presented assessing the relationship between exercise intensity, caloric intake and weight. In study I 17 college student women participated in a daily aerobics exercise program over a 5 week period. Running times were assessed throughout the study as estimates of activity level and were related to pre-exercise weights and daily self-reported caloric intake. Results suggested no relationship between activity level and weight, but strong positive relationships between activity level assessed by daily running times or a pre-exercise 12 min test and self-reported caloric intake. The second study was designed to examine the consistency of the relationship between 12 min test performance, caloric intake and weight by using a new group of 16 female college students, and to analyze the relationship between 12 min test performance and several other measures of activity including general and specific activity logging procedures and daily pedometer measures. Results showed the exercise, weight, caloric intake relationships were reproducible. In addition, 12 min test performance correlated with daily pedometer readings and specific logging procedures. These results suggest the previous epidemiological relationship between weight, caloric intake and activity level can be replicated using an estimate of activity level obtained during endurance exercise, and that performance on 12 min test is indicative of differences in general activity levels.