¹Laboratory of Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece

Correspondence: C Koutsari, Laboratory of Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, 70 El. Venizelou Avenue, 176 71 Athens, Greece. E-mail: ckoutsari@hua.gr

Guarantor: C Koutsari.

Contributors: CK contributed to the study design and was responsible for conducting the study, collecting the data, performing the data analyses and writing the manuscript. AZ and IT contributed to design of the test meals, data collection and diet analyses. LS and ALM were involved in designing the study, preparing the final manuscript and overall supervision of the project.

Received 22 April 2003; Revised 6 June 2003; Accepted 10 June 2003.

Abstract

Objective: Both gender and meal fatty acid composition modulate postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) metabolism, but little information exists on their interaction. We compared postprandial TAG concentrations in men and women after test meals differing in the proportion of monounsaturated (MUFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFA).

Subjects: Nine men (body mass index, BMI: 24.52.3 kg/m²) (means.d.) and 10 premenopausal women (BMI: 21.21.7 kg/m²), young and healthy, habituated to a relatively high MUFA diet.

Design: Plasma responses were studied after subjects consumed two meals, each providing 60 g of fat and 4.7 MJ, on different occasions: one meal was rich in MUFA (MUFA meal: 40 g MUFA; 12 g SFA) and the other meal was rich in SFA (SFA meal: 20 g MUFA; 32 g SFA). The total body and abdominal fat mass were assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Results: Fasting plasma TAG concentration did not differ between meals or genders. No gender differences were observed in either total body or abdominal fat mass. The area under the plasma concentration vs time curve was on average 60% higher (P<0.001) in men than women. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of meal time interaction in men (P<0.001) but not in women (P=0.84). In men, maximal plasma TAG occurred at 4 h and was significantly greater after the MUFA meal (2.100.20 mmol/l) (means.e.m.) than after the SFA meal (1.660.19 mmol/l) (P=0.01). TAG concentration at 5 h was also significantly greater after the MUFA meal. In women, the patterns of TAG responses were identical after the MUFA and SFA meals.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that gender influences postprandial TAG concentrations when meal fatty acid composition is altered.