Postprandial Metabolic and Appetite Responses to Different Food Intake Sequences in Athletes

Summary

Emerging evidence suggests that following a 'carbohydrate-last meal pattern', wherein foods rich in protein, fat, fiber, and/or polyphenols are consumed before sources of simple carbohydrate (CHO) in a meal, results in reduced postprandial glycaemic responses than the reverse food order or a co-ingestion pattern. This effect has been observed across the spectrum of glucose tolerance, from patients with diabetes to individuals with normal glucose tolerance (Kuwata et al., 2016; Nishino et al., 2018; Lu et al., 2019; Sun et al., 2020). Furthermore, reduced glucose excursions have been linked to decreased subsequent hunger and energy intake (Lu et al., 2019; Wyatt et al., 2021).

However, to date, no studies on food intake sequence have targeted athletes, despite their increased CHO demands (Thomas et al., 2016) which could expose them to repeated episodes of hyperglycaemia and high glycaemic variability, known to increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality (Loader et al., 2015; Cavero-Redondo et al., 2017; Faerch et al., 2018). Additionally, athletes often face pressure to meet body composition standards and may benefit from strategies that enhance satiety and craving control. Finally, there is reason to believe that better glycaemic control could lead to improved performance, given that enhancements in endurance activities have been observed with a low-glycemic-index diet compared to a high-glycemic-index diet (Heung-Sang Wong et al., 2017).

Therefore, this randomised crossover trial is part of a wider project which seeks to explore the impact of food intake sequence on metabolic health and performance in athletes. Specifically, this trial aims to investigate the acute, postprandial metabolic and appetite responses to consuming an identical meal in two intake sequences (CHO-last versus CHO-first) in athletes, while in the resting state.

Conditions

• Healthy
• Nutrition, Healthy
• Postprandial Hyperglycemia
• Hunger
• Craving

Interventions

OTHER

Carbohydrate-last meal pattern

Skyr yoghurt, whey protein and almonds over \~5 min, immediately followed by white bread, strawberry jam, banana and pulp-free orange juice over \~10 min.

OTHER

Carbohydrate-first meal pattern

White bread, strawberry jam, banana and pulp-free orange juice over \~10 min, immediately followed by skyr yoghurt, whey protein and almonds over \~5 min.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Federação Portuguesa de Futebol

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

  collaborator OTHER

• Universidade do Porto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rita Giro · FCNAUP, University of Porto; Portugal Football School, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-04-22

Primary Completion

2024-12-16

Completion

2024-12-16

Countries

• Portugal

Study Locations