Effect of prior exercise on postprandial triglycerides in overweight young women after ingesting a high-carbohydrate meal

To examine the effect of prior exercise on the postprandial lipid response to a high-carbohydrate meal in normal-weight (NW = BMI <25) and overweight (OW = BMI ≥25) women (age 18-25), 10 NW and 10 OW participants completed 2 conditions separated by 1 month. In the morning, the day after control (CT = no exercise) or exercise conditions (EX = 60 min cycling at 60% VO _2peak), participants consumed a high-carbohydrate meal (80% CHO, 15% protein, 5% fat; 75 kJ/kg BM) followed by 6 hr of hourly blood sampling. Blood was analyzed for triglycerides (TG), blood glucose (BG), and insulin (IN). TG levels over the 6-hr period were lower in NW than OW (p = .021) and lower in EX than in CT (p = .006). Area under the curve (AUC) for TG was lower in NW than OW (p = .016) and EX than CT (p = .003). There were nonsignificant tendencies for reduced BG over time (p = .053) and AUC (p = .083), and IN AUC was lower in EX than in CT (p= .040) for both groups and lower in NW than in OW (p = .039). Prior exercise improved TG levels after a high-carbohydrate meal in both groups, and OW women demonstrated a greater postprandial lipemic response than NW regardless of condition. There were tendencies for improved glucose removal with prior exercise in NW vs. OW. Acute exercise can improve postprandial TG responses and might also improve postprandial BG and IN after a large meal in NW and OW young women.