Separate and sequential effects of exercise and meal ingestion on energy expenditure.

The present study was undertaken to determine whether or not untrained, non-obese college-aged females (n = 10) would exhibit a greater thermic response when exercise (E) (treadmill walking at 56% VO2max) preceded a meal (F) [3,846 kJ (920 kcal), 60% carbohydrate, 25% fat, and 15% protein] (EF) compared with exercise only (ENF) or a meal alone (NEF). A protocol in which neither exercise nor food (NENF) was present served as a baseline. Energy expenditure during 60 min of recovery increased 21.5% for the NEF condition, did not change in the ENF condition, and increased 20% in the EF condition over the corresponding resting metabolic rate. It was concluded that there was no interactive thermic effect from the exercise food sequence above the thermic effect of the meal alone.