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Published on: January 7, 2018
Gender differences in lipid and glucose kinetics during short-term fasting
B Mittendorfer1, J F Horowitz, S Klein
1Department of Internal Medicine and Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
Gender impacts fasting metabolism, with women showing higher initial lipolysis that blunts during fasting compared to men. Glucose metabolism remained similar between sexes during fasting periods.
Area of Science:
- Metabolic Physiology
- Endocrinology
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Gender influences metabolic responses to fasting.
- Body composition differences can confound studies on gender and fasting metabolism.
- Understanding sex-specific metabolic adaptations is crucial for health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sex differences in whole-body lipid and glucose kinetics during fasting.
- To control for adiposity to isolate gender-specific metabolic responses.
- To compare metabolic substrate utilization in men and women under basal and fasting conditions.
Main Methods:
- Stable isotope tracers ([2H2]glucose and [2H5]glycerol) were used to measure substrate kinetics.
- Whole-body glucose and glycerol rates of appearance (Ra) were assessed.
- Participants included men and women matched for adiposity undergoing 14-h and 22-h fasts.
Main Results:
- Women exhibited a greater basal lipolytic rate (glycerol Ra) than men.
- The relative increase in lipolysis during fasting was less pronounced in women compared to men.
- Glucose kinetics (glucose Ra) were similar between genders at both 14-h and 22-h fasting durations.
- Despite initial differences, overall lipolytic rates were comparable at 22-h fasting.
Conclusions:
- Sexual dimorphism exists in lipid metabolism during fasting, independent of adiposity.
- Glucose metabolism during short-term fasting does not appear to differ significantly between sexes when adiposity is controlled.
- These findings highlight sex-specific adaptations in substrate utilization during fasting.
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