Postprandial lipemic and inflammatory responses to high-fat meals: a review of the roles of acute and chronic exercise

Abstract

Postprandial lipemia is an independent risk factor for development of cardiovascular disease. Postprandial inflammation following the prolonged elevation of triglycerides occurring subsequent to ingestion of high-fat meals, provides a likely explanation for increased disease risk. Substantial evidence has shown that acute exercise is an effective modality for attenuation of postprandial lipemia following a high-fat meal. However, much of the evidence pertaining to exercise intensity, duration, and overall energy expenditure for reducing postprandial lipemia is inconsistent. The effects of these different exercise variables on postprandial inflammation is largely unknown. Long-term, frequent exercise, however, appears to effectively reduce systemic inflammation, especially in at-risk or diseased individuals. With regard to an acute postprandial response, without a recent bout of exercise, high levels of chronic exercise do not appear to reduce postprandial lipemia. This review summarizes the current literature on postprandial and inflammatory responses to high-fat meals, and the roles that both acute and chronic exercise play. This review may be valuable for health professionals who wish to provide evidence-based, pragmatic advice for reducing postprandial lipemia and cardiovascular disease risk for their patients. A brief review of proposed mechanisms explaining how high-fat meals may result in pro-inflammatory and pro-atherosclerotic environments is also included.

Exercise and postprandial lipemia: effects on vascular health in inactive adults

“…The aforementioned studies investigating the protective effects of exercise performed a few hours before consumption of an HFM on postprandial metabolism and endothelial function have focused on the acute effects of exercise. Thus, although a 12-week training program has been established as a protocol to assess the chronic effects of exercise [ 18 ], the potential impact on postprandial metabolism and vascular function after HFM have not been previously investigated. A recent narrative review summarized the current literature on the possible contributions of medium- to long-term physical training to the reduction of the postprandial response, concluding that the data are inconclusive [ 18 ].…”

“…Thus, although a 12-week training program has been established as a protocol to assess the chronic effects of exercise [ 18 ], the potential impact on postprandial metabolism and vascular function after HFM have not been previously investigated. A recent narrative review summarized the current literature on the possible contributions of medium- to long-term physical training to the reduction of the postprandial response, concluding that the data are inconclusive [ 18 ]. Interestingly, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis on cardio-metabolic health showed that performing even a short period (∼4 min) of high-intensity exercise has greater benefits than moderate-intensity exercise in terms of cardiometabolic risk factors [ 19 ].…”

Metabolic status is related to the effects of adding of sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) oil on postprandial inflammation and lipid profile: Randomized, crossover clinical trial

“…It causes a low-grade transient inflammatory state that can be studied by measuring serum concentrations of markers such as IL-6 and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). These postprandial changes have been associated with development of cardiovascular disease (Borén, Matikainen, Adiels, & Taskinen, 2014) and their magnitude seems to be related to metabolic status of individuals (Badoud et al, 2015) and intake content (López et al, 2018;Teeman et al, 2016). Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA) promote inflammatory reactions, while omega 3 (n3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and polyphenols cause the opposite effect, so their consumption is considered beneficial for health (Derosa, Cicero, D'Angelo, Borghi, & Maffioli, 2016;Guess, Perreault, Kerege, Strauss, & Bergman, 2016).…”

Increased usual physical activity is associated with a blunting of the triglyceride response to a high-fat meal

“…Studies of a variety of short-term exercise regimens of varying times and intensities have reported reductions in post-prandial TG ranging from 10–27% (reviewed by Miyashita (16)). While there remains some uncertainty about the intensity and duration of the physical activity required to attenuate the post-meal lipemic response (16, 17), available data suggests that the window during which acute exercise can attenuate PPL ranges between 18 hours prior to the high-fat meal to 90 minutes following the high-fat meal (18–20). More generally, the available data suggest that high bouts of chronic exercise alone, without an accompanying recent bout of exercise, do not markedly affect the post-meal lipemic response, and this has been reported even among highly active individuals (20, 21).…”