BackgroundThe composition of fatty acids in a diet may differentially affect metabolism, thus playing a role in the development of obesity. Our purpose was to study the effects of three high-fat (HF) meals with different dietary fatty acid compositions on the thermic effect of meal (TEM) and substrate oxidation in obese premenopausal women. Methods16 healthy obese women, aged 18–39years, participated in a single-blinded randomized cross-over study, in which they consumed isocaloric HF meals (70% of energy from fat) rich in either saturated fat (SFA), monounsaturated fat (MUFA) or polyunsaturated fat (PUFA). Indirect calorimetry was used to measure respiratory gases for a 5-hour postprandial period. Data collected was used to determine respiratory exchange ratio (RER) for assessing substrate oxidation, and energy expenditure for the determination of TEM. ResultsThere was a significant time effect on both substrate oxidation and TEM (p<0.05). With and without using RMR as a covariate, there were no significant differences in TEM between test meals (TEM of 10.8±0.8 vs 11.0±1.0kcal∗5h for high-MUFA vs. high-SFA meals, respectively, p=0.06). No treatment difference was found for postprandial substrate utilization (4.9±0.4, 4.9±0.3 and 4.6±0.4g of fat oxidation following SFA, MUFA, and PUFA-rich HF meals, respectively; 13.2±0.9, 13.3±0.5 and 13.9±0.6g of carbohydrate oxidation following SFA, MUFA, and PUFA-rich HF meals, respectively). ConclusionsIn premenopausal obese women, HF meals rich in either MUFAs, PUFAs, or SFAs did not differentially affect TEM or postprandial substrate oxidation.