Exercise Before Fatty Meal May Curb Bad Effects

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Exercise Before Fatty Meal May Curb Bad Effects

Mon Dec 20, 5:36 PM ET Health - Reuters

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People gearing up for an indulgent

holiday feast may want to make time for some pre-meal exercise. A

small study out Monday suggests that a long walk before a fatty meal

can lessen the effects of high fat intake on blood vessel function.

Eating high-fat foods is known to transiently elevate levels of

blood fats such as triglycerides, and recent research has shown that

a rich meal can also temporarily impair the functioning of the

lining of blood vessels-called the endothelium.

The new study, published in the December 21st issue of the Journal

of the American College of Cardiology, suggests that moderate

exercise can blunt these effects in both thin and obese middle-aged

men.

The 20 men in the study ate a rich meal -- featuring whipped cream,

chocolate and a whopping 80 grams of fat -- under two conditions on

separate days. In one condition, the men spent 90 minutes walking on

a treadmill the day before the meal; in the other, they had their

meal after an exercise-free day.

The researchers found that the men's post-meal triglyceride levels

rose to a lesser degree when they exercised before the meal.

Moreover, their blood vessel function -- specifically, the dilation

of small vessels in the forearm in response to increased blood flow -

- was better when compared with the no-exercise condition.

" Our results do suggest that exercise can help to lessen the

potential adverse effects of fatty meals on blood vessel function, "

Dr. Gill, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.

But that's not to say that people who exercise regularly have a

license to indulge, according to Gill, of the University of Glasgow

in the UK.

There was a general decrease in blood vessel function after the

fatty meal, whether the men exercised or not, Gill and his

colleagues found. The impairment was less pronounced, however, when

the meal came after a long walk.

Past research has shown that high-fat meals, but not low-fat ones,

can temporarily dampen normal blood vessel dilation. The concern,

according to Gill's team, is that if these post-meal effects are

repeated daily over time, there will be consequences for a person's

long-term cardiovascular health.

Gill said the average person downs about 70 to 100 grams of fat per

day, which indicates that their blood fats are elevated for the

majority of the day, every day. The new findings suggest that

regular exercise can curb the potential damage to blood vessel

function -- and offer another possible reason for why exercise

improves heart health.

It's not clear exactly how pre-meal exercise countered the effects

of the fatty meal. According to Gill, activity may help by lowering

blood fat levels and giving fat particles less opportunity

for " interacting " with the vessel walls, or by giving a boost to

blood flow that can last for hours afterward.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, included 10

normal-weight men and 10 obese men. For the exercise condition, they

walked at a moderate pace for 90 minutes. According to Gill, shorter

exercise sessions may also be helpful for blood vessel function,

since the researchers previously found that 30 minutes of activity

can lower post-meal blood fat levels.

SOURCE: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, December 21,

2004.