Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;34(5):886-91.
doi: 10.1038/ijo.2010.16. Epub 2010 Mar 2.

Effect of a 3-day high-fat feeding period on carbohydrate balance and ad libitum energy intake in humans

J E Galgani  1 , L de Jonge, M M Most, G A Bray, S R Smith
Affiliations

Effect of a 3-day high-fat feeding period on carbohydrate balance and ad libitum energy intake in humans

J E Galgani et al. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 May.

Abstract

Objective: A reduction in glycogen after the switch to an isoenergetic high-fat diet (HFD) might promote a compensatory increase in food intake to reestablish carbohydrate balance. We assessed the effect of an isoenergetic switch from a 49%-carbohydrate to 50%-fat diet on nutrient balance and ad libitum food intake. We hypothesized that carbohydrate balance would be inversely related to ad libitum energy intake.

Methods: In 47 men and 11 women (22.6+/-0.4 years; 26.1+/-0.5 kg m(-2)), fuel balance was measured in a respiration chamber over 4 days. During the first day, an isoenergetic, high-carbohydrate diet was provided followed by a 3-day isoenergetic, HFD. At the end of this period and after 16 h of fasting, three options of foods (cookies, fruit salad and turkey sandwich) were offered ad libitum for 4 h. The relationships between post-chamber ad libitum intake and macronutrient oxidation and balance measured day-to-day and over the 4-day respiration chamber stay were studied.

Results: After switching to a HFD, 24-h respiratory quotient decreased from 0.87+/-0.02 to 0.83+/-0.02 (P<0.0001) resulting in a 4-day cumulative carbohydrate, fat and protein balances of -183+/-368, 342+/-480 and 65+/-267 kcal, respectively. Cumulative energy balance (224+/-362 kcal per 4 days) did not influence ad libitum energy intake. However, we detected that 4-day carbohydrate balance was a positive and independent predictor of post-chamber ad libitum energy intake (R (2)=0.10; P=0.01), whereas no significant influence of fat and protein balances was found.

Conclusion: In response to an isoenergetic change from a high-carbohydrate to HFD, higher carbohydrate balance related to increased energy intake.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Relationship between cumulative carbohydrate balance over 4 days and ad-libitum energy intake during the test meal
Pearson correlation with fat-free mass as a partial variable: r = 0.33; p = 0.02. n = 58
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Russek M. Participation of hepatic glucoreceptors in the control of intake of food. Nature. 1963;197:79–80. - PubMed
    1. Flatt JP. The difference in the storage capacities for carbohydrate and for fat, and its implications in the regulation of body weight. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1987;499:104–123. - PubMed
    1. Goldberg GR, Murgatroyd PR, McKenna AP, Heavey PM, Prentice AM. Dietary compensation in response to covert imposition of negative energy balance by removal of fat or carbohydrate. Br J Nutr. 1998;80:141–147. - PubMed
    1. Shetty PS, Prentice AM, Goldberg GR, Murgatroyd PR, McKenna AP, Stubbs RJ, et al. Alterations in fuel selection and voluntary food intake in response to isoenergetic manipulation of glycogen stores in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;60:534–543. - PubMed
    1. Snitker S, Larson DE, Tataranni PA, Ravussin E. Ad libitum food intake in humans after manipulation of glycogen stores. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997;65:941–946. - PubMed

Publication types