Exercise can help people reduce the intake of high risk, bodyweight-increasing foods.

A study by the University of Leeds showed that people who engage in regular exercise are more likely to regulate their fat intake and avoid high-risk diet.

Passive over consumption occurs as a result of eating fatty foods that are high in density and have a large number of calories per unit of weight. This means that a large number of calories are consumed even though the amount of food eaten isn't necessarily high.

The biopsychology group at University of Leeds developed a way to measure a person's self-selection of fatty foods and the amount of calories they consume.

The findings show that obese people initially demonstrated a control of eating which was based on the weight of food eaten, not the amount of calories contained in that food.

During a 12 week supervised exercise programme, however, the obese individuals demonstrated a progressive reduction in self-selected high fat food.

Exercise therefore seems to have a beneficial effect on dietary behaviour by helping people reduce the intake of high risk, bodyweight-increasing foods.

When people engage in regular exercise fat intake is better regulated and consequently these people move towards a healthier diet.

This research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and presented at the recent British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences Annual Conference.