Exercise of low energy expenditure along with mild energy intake restriction acutely reduces fasting and postprandial triacylglycerolaemia in young women

A single bout of prolonged, moderate-intensity endurance exercise lowers fasting and postprandial TAG concentrations the next day. However, the TAG-lowering effect of exercise is dose-dependent and does not manifest after light exercise of low energy cost ( < 2 MJ). We aimed to investigate whether superimposing mild energy intake restriction to such exercise, in order to augment total energy deficit, potentiates the hypotriacylglycerolaemic effect. Eight healthy, sedentary, premenopausal women (age 27.1 (SEM 1.3) years; BMI 21.8 (SEM 0.9) kg/m²) performed two oral fat tolerance tests in the morning on two different occasions: once after a single bout of light exercise (100 min at 30 % of peak oxygen consumption; net energy expenditure 1.04 (SEM 0.01) MJ) coupled with mild energy intake restriction (1.39 (SEM 0.22) MJ) on the preceding day, and once after resting coupled with isoenergetic feeding on the preceding day (control). Fasting plasma TAG, TAG in the TAG-rich lipoproteins (TRL-TAG) and serum insulin concentrations were 18, 34 and 30 % lower, respectively, after exercise plus diet compared with the control trial (P < 0.05). Postprandial concentrations of plasma TAG and TRL-TAG were 19 and 27 % lower after exercise plus diet compared with the control condition (P < 0.01), whereas postprandial insulin concentrations were not different. It is concluded that a combination of light exercise along with mild hypoenergetic diet may be a practical and feasible intervention to attenuate fasting and postprandial triacylglycerolaemia, especially for people who cannot exercise for prolonged periods of time at moderate-to-high intensities, such as many sedentary individuals.