Although this is my guess based on experience, I think said anti-hunger effect can be had without intense exercise. I've noticed consistently that walking has an anti-hunger effect. Walking does take more time than running, but it doesn't really register as stress to the body in the same way that running and other forms of cardio do, meaning a lower cortisol response. Maybe it's not as strong an effect as with something like running, but I think it's worth observing and considering. In weighing the pros and cons, I think that walking is better in terms of longevity. Cortisol and stress on joints are things you don't really want.
I think research has shown the opposite. Low-intensity cardio makes people more hungry, in general. Personally, after a long hike, I have a voracious appetite.
Weight lifting makes me ravenous. Long endurance exercise makes me crave salty things. Like bacon. Or bacon on a cheeseburger.
Here we are again, lecturing people on weight loss as if every human on the planet has exactly the same metabolism, instead of having different metabolic genes, different lines of mitrochondrial DNA, and our metabolism being moderated and modulated by single celled organisms that outnumber our own cells.
We don't have it figured out, and we're not going to figure it out by looking at hundreds of people and copycatting them. This is going to take double genetic testing for participant selection. One for the participant, one for a stool sample.
Like I said, it's just a guess from my experience. It's a complicated subject because people can get "hungry" for different reasons. For me it could very well be that simply getting up to walk a 4-mile circuit around the neighborhood gives me enough of a goal and enjoyment that I feel less of a need to reach for food as entertainment, including the time following the walk.
What gives me an appetite is weight lifting. I honestly don't get how people can't be hungry after lifting heavy. Could be psychological for me because I am also intent on building muscle, but still. My hunger after lifting is more visceral than my usual "gotta eat" feeling.
