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The effect of acute exercise on endothelial function following a high-fat meal

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Abstract

The transient impairment of endothelial function following a high-fat meal is well established. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) decreases between 2 and 6 h post ingestion. Whether this impairment can be reduced with acute aerobic exercise has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate if a single sustained aerobic exercise session can counteract the postprandial attenuation in brachial artery FMD associated with the ingestion of a high-fat meal. Eight apparently healthy adults (five men, three women), age 25.5 ± 0.8 years, performed three treatment conditions in a counter-balanced design: (1) low-fat meal alone (LFM), (2) high-fat meal alone (HFM), and (3) one session of aerobic exercise presented 2 h after ingesting a high-fat meal (HFM-EX). The examination of brachial artery FMD was performed at baseline and 4 h following the ingestion of the meal for each treatment condition. A 3 × 2 (treatment × time) repeated measures ANOVA exhibited a significant interaction (P = 0.019). Preprandial FMDs were similar (P = 0.863) among all three treatment conditions. The FMDs following the LFM (7.18 ± 1.31%) and HFM-EX (8.72 ± 0.94%) were significantly higher (P = 0.001) than the FMD following the HFM (4.29 ± 1.64%). FMD was significantly elevated above preprandial values following the HFM-EX (5.61 ± 1.54 to 8.72 ± 0.94%, P = 0.005) but was unchanged following the LFM (6.17 ± 0.94 to 7.18 ± 1.31%, P = 0.317) and the HFM (5.73 ± 1.23 to 4.29 ± 1.64%, P = 0.160). These findings suggest that a single aerobic exercise session cannot only counteract the postprandial endothelial dysfunction induced by the ingestion of a high-fat meal, but also increase brachial artery FMD in apparently healthy adults.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Clinical Exercise Physiology Laboratory and Nutrition Sciences Laboratory at Indiana University. J. Padilla is sponsored by a fellowship from the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de España.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, Clinical Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Jaume Padilla, Ryan A. Harris & Janet P. Wallace

  2. Department of Applied Health Science, Nutrition Sciences Laboratory, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Alyce D. Fly

  3. School of Medicine, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Lawrence D. Rink

Authors
  1. Jaume Padilla
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  2. Ryan A. Harris
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  3. Alyce D. Fly
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  4. Lawrence D. Rink
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  5. Janet P. Wallace
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Correspondence to Jaume Padilla.

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Padilla, J., Harris, R.A., Fly, A.D. et al. The effect of acute exercise on endothelial function following a high-fat meal. Eur J Appl Physiol 98, 256–262 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-006-0272-z

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