The effects of a single bout of resistance exercise on measures of postprandial lipemia, inflammation, and endothelial function following a high fat meal in lean and obese young women

Abstract

The present study determined the effects of an acute bout of resistance exercise on postprandial concentrations of TGs, inflammatory markers and on endothelial function in young, lean and obese women. Nine sedentary lean (20.22 + 1.20 years) and 10 sedentary obese (22.60 + 3.47 years) women participated in two experimental trials, a resistance exercise trial (EXS) and a resting control trial (CON). The following day they consumed a high-fat test meal after a 12-hour fast, followed by a 6-hour testing period. The lean group had a lower overall triglyceride response to the meal compared to the obese group (p=0.028) and all groups observed a postprandial triglyceride elevation. Both groups experienced an increase in artery dilation after the resistance exercise compared to the control trial (p=0.034). Only the obese group observed a significantly blunted IL-6 response due to the resistance exercise (p=0.019). The lean group had a significantly lower concentration of CRP compared the obese group across all time points (p=0.014). Furthermore, both the lean and obese groups in both conditions observed leukocytosis after the high-fat meal and throughout the test period (p=0.000). However, this elevation was blunted in the exercise trials in both groups. The results of this study suggest that even acute bouts of exercise can produce beneficial effects on inflammation in both lean and obese women. It also suggest that the negative effects of cardiovascular disease risk factors including postprandial hyperlipemia, increased postprandial inflammation and decreased postprandial endothelial function are seen in apparently healthy young women solely due to their obesity.