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Effects of Dietary Carbohydrate Content on Circulating Metabolic Fuel Availability in the Postprandial State
Kim J Shimy1,2, Henry A Feldman3, Gloria L Klein1
1New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Context:
According to the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity, an elevated insulin-to-glucagon ratio in response to a high-carbohydrate diet directs metabolic fuels toward storage, resulting in lower circulating energy.
Objective:
To determine differences in total circulating energy post-meal related to dietary carbohydrate.
Design:
Ancillary study within the Framingham State Food Study.
Setting:
University community.
Participants:
29 adults (aged 20 to 65 years) with overweight or obesity (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2).
Intervention:
After achieving 10% to 14% weight loss on a run-in diet, participants were randomized to weight-loss-maintenance test diets varying in carbohydrate content (high-carbohydrate, 60% of total energy, n = 11; moderate-carbohydrate, 40%, n = 8; low-carbohydrate, 20%, n = 10) and controlled for protein (20%). During 24-hour metabolic ward admissions between 10 and 15 weeks on the test diets, metabolic fuels and hormones were measured.
Main Outcome Measure:
Energy availability (EA) based on energy content of blood glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and free fatty acids, in the late postprandial period (180 to 300 minutes). Insulin at 30 minutes into the test meal (Meal Insulin-30) was measured as an effect modifier.
Results:
Insulin-to-glucagon ratio was 7-fold higher in participants on the high- vs low-carbohydrate diet (2.5 and 0.36, respectively). Late postprandial EA was 0.58 kcal/L lower on the high- vs low-carbohydrate diet (P < 0.0001), primarily related to suppression of free fatty acids. Early postprandial EA (30 to 180 minutes) declined fastest in the high-carbohydrate group, and Meal Insulin-30 modified this diet effect.
Conclusions:
During weight-loss maintenance on a high-carbohydrate diet, late postprandial EA is reduced, consistent with the carbohydrate-insulin model.
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