Rehab

Study: Physical activity reverses damage from high-fat meal

Rehab Regs, September 15, 2006

Participating in some type of physical activity after a high-fat meal reverses the arterial dysfunction caused by fatty foods. It also improves the function of these same arteries compared to before the meal, according to new research from Indiana University.

The findings, reported in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, are part of a growing focus on the effect food has on the body after a meal. After a fatty meal, arteries lose their ability to expand in response to an increase in blood flow, with the effect peaking four to six hours after eating.

"What happens four hours after that high-fat meal is that your artery looks just like the arteries of a person who has heart disease," said co-author Janet P. Wallace, professor in IU Bloomington's Department of Kinesiology. "What our study showed is that when you exercise after that meal, it doesn't look like a sick artery anymore."

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