Neither Resistance Or Aerobic Training Improve Postprandial Lipemia Or Glycemia In Post-menopausal Women.

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women. Post-menopausal (PM) women are particularly vulnerable in terms of adverse cardiometabolic risk factors, including impairments in glucose and lipid metabolism. Acute resistance and aerobic exercise are efficacious for improving postprandial metabolic glucose (GLU) and triglycerides (TG), however it is unclear if chronic training elicits improvements in postprandial metabolism in PM women. Purpose: To determine if 16 weeks of progressive resistance (RT) or aerobic (AT) training improve postprandial GLU and TG in PM women. Methods: Forty-eight PM women (56 ± 5 y) completed 16 weeks of RT (n = 18), AT (n = 16), or no exercise (control (CON; n = 14)). PM women in the RT group completed 2-4 sets of 9 exercises for the major muscle groups at 50-70% of one repetition maximum on 3 d·wk-1. PM women in the AT group walked, jogged, or cycled at 50-65% of heart rate reserve on 5 d·wk-1. PM women in the CON group maintained habitual physical activity and dietary habits. Before and after the intervention period, participants arrived to the lab after a 10-h fast and having abstained from exercise for at least 72 h. Participants’ GLU and TG were measured while fasted (BL), and 2 h and 4 h after consuming a standardized high-fat, high-sugar meal (12 kcal/kg body weight; 61% fat, 25% carbohydrate). Metabolic load index (MLI) was calculated as the sum of GLU and TG at each time point. Trapezoidal area under the curve (tAUC) and incremental area under the curve (iAUC) were calculated for GLU, TG, and MLI. Non-normally distributed data were log-transformed for analyses, which included two-way mixed effects models (group * time). Results: The GLU tAUC decreased (p = 0.025) from pre- to post-intervention independent of group (539.7 ± 53.6 vs. 520.0 ± 59.63 mg/d x 4 hr). No significant interactions or main effects were observed for any other outcome (p = 0.134 - 0.814). Conclusions: Neither 16 weeks of RT or AT influenced postprandial TG or GLU in PM women. These data may suggest that chronic exercise training does not modify postprandial metabolic response to mixed meals independent of acute exercise, or otherwise that PM women are resistant to the potential beneficial effects of chronic training on postprandial metabolism. Future studies are needed to examine these possibilities.