Metabolic Responses to High-Fat or Low-Fat Meals and Association with Sympathetic Nervous System Activity in Healthy Young Men

  • NAGAI Narumi
    Laboratory of Applied Physiology, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University Department of Nutritional Science, Faculty of Health and Welfare, Okayama Prefectural University
  • SAKANE Naoki
    Department of Preventive Medicine, Clinical Research Institute, Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Disease, National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center
  • MORITANI Toshio
    Laboratory of Applied Physiology, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

Search this article

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the metabolic and sympathetic responses to a high-fat meal in humans. Fourteen young men (age: 23.6±0.5 y, BMI: 21.3±0.4 kg/m2) were examined for energy expenditure and fat oxidation measured by indirect calorimetry for 3.5h after a high-fat (70% energy from fat) or an isoenergetic lowfat (20% energy from fat) meal served in random order. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity was assessed using power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). After the high-fat meal, increases in thermoregulatory SNS activity (very low-frequency component of HRV, 0.007-0.035 Hz, 577.4±45.9 vs. 432.0±49.3 ms2, p<0.05) and fat oxidation (21.0±5.3 vs. 13.3±4.3 g, p<0.001) were greater than those after the low-fat meal. However, thermic effects of the meal (TEM) were lower after the high-fat meal than after the low-fat meal (27.5±11.2 vs. 36.1±10.9 kcal, p<0.05). In conclusion, the high' fat meal can stimulate thermoregulatory SNS and lipolysis, but resulted in lower TEM, suggesting that a high proportion of dietary fat intake, even with a normal daily range of calories, may be a potent risk factor for further weight gain.

Journal

Citations (5)*help

See more

References(27)*help

See more

Details

Report a problem

Back to top