Abstract
To study the effect of meal timing after exercise on body composition, 20 male rats were assigned to either a group fed a meal right after exercise (R) or a group fed a meal 4 h after exercise (L). Resistance exercise (squatting) was conducted from 6:00 to 7:00, 3 d/wk for 10 wk. Meals were consumed from 7:00 to 8:00 and from 19:00 to 20:00 for R, and from 11:00 to 12:00 and from 19:00 to 20:00 for L. The room was lighted from 7:00 to 19:00. After 10 wk, the body weight was comparable between the groups. The hindlimb muscle weight was higher in R than in L by 6% (p<0.05), whereas the sum of the weight of perirenal, epididymal, and mesenteric adipose tissues was lower in R than in L by 24% (p<0.01). The soleus lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was higher in R than in L by 70% (p<0.01), and the activity negatively correlated with the adipose tissue weight (r=-0.49, p<0.05). These results suggest the possibility that ingesting a meal right after resistance exercise may contribute to an increase in the muscle mass and to a decrease in the adipose tissue compared to ingesting a meal several hours later.
