Effect of exercise timing on postprandial lipemia and HDL cholesterol subfractions

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of exercise timing on postprandial lipemia responses. Subjects were 21 recreationally trained men (ages 27 +/- 1.7 yr). Each subject performed four trials: 1) Control (fat meal only), 2) Post (exercise 1 h after a fat meal), 3) 1 h-Pre (exercise 1 h before a fat meal), and 4) 12 h-Pre (exercise 12 h before a fat meal). In each trial, subjects had a standard fat meal to induce postprandial hypertriglyceridemia. Blood samples were taken at 0 h (immediately before the fat meal) and at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h after the meal. In the exercise trials, each subject exercised at 60% of maximal O-2 consumption for 1 h. The results indicated that triglyceride area under the curve scores in premeal-exercise trials were lower (P ( 0.05) than those in Post and Control. At 24 h, total high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol in the premeal-exercise trials was higher (P < 0.05) than that at 0 h, whereas total HDL-cholesterol was not changed in Control and Post. At 24 h, HDL subtype 2-cholesterol was higher (P < 0.05) in the premeal-exercise trials than in Control, which did not differ from Post. These results suggest that exercising before a fat meal may have a beneficial effect on the triglyceride response and HDL metabolism, which may blunt atherosclerotic process induced by the fat meal.