Effect of prior exercise on lipemia after a meal of moderate fat content.

OBJECTIVE

Prior exercise has been repeatedly shown to reduce lipemia after meals of exaggerated fat content (over 60% of total energy). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the same applies to meals closer to the composition of the typical Western diet and explore whether exercise affects the release of dietary fat into the bloodstream.

DESIGN

Randomized counterbalanced.

SETTING

Laboratory.

SUBJECTS

Nine healthy young male volunteers.

INTERVENTION

Subjects consumed a meal of moderate fat content (35% of total energy, 0.66 g/kg body mass) 14 h after having either cycled for 1 h at 70-75% of maximal heart rate or rested. Macadamia nuts were used as the main source of dietary fat to trace its entry into the circulation because of their unusual fatty acid composition. Blood samples were drawn before the meal and for 8 h postprandially.

RESULTS

Plasma triacylglycerol concentrations and total area under the triacylglycerol concentration vs time curve (AUC) were significantly lower after exercise (P = 0.001 and 0.003, respectively; effect size for the latter, 0.84). However, incremental (above baseline) AUC was not affected by exercise significantly. When controlling for differences in baseline plasma concentrations, only the fatty acids that were more abundant in the meal than in plasma triacylglycerols were decreased in the early postprandial period following exercise, implying either a suppressive effect of exercise on the rate of triacylglycerol release from the intestine or a more rapid chylomicron clearance after meal consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise performed between 15 and 14 h before a meal of moderate fat content reduced postprandial lipemia, mainly by lowering fasting triacylglycerols. The effect of exercise on postprandial triacylglycerol metabolism may be mediated, at least in part, by attenuated release of dietary fat from the intestine.