Exercise affects insulin sensitivity

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says what is eaten after exercise produces differences in the way the body metabolizes.

Senior author Jeffrey Horowitz of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor also says many of the health benefits of aerobic exercise are due to the most recent exercise session rather than weeks or longer of exercise training.

"Many of the improvements in metabolic health associated with exercise stem largely from the most recent session of exercise, rather than from an increase in 'fitness' per se," Horowitz says in a statement.

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, finds exercise enhanced insulin sensitivity, particularly of carbohydrates eaten after the exercise session. Enhanced insulin sensitivity means sugar is taken from the blood stream into tissues like muscles to be stored or used as fuel. Impaired insulin sensitivity -- known as insulin resistance -- is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes and a major risk factor for heart disease.

Horowitz says eating relatively low-calorie meals after exercise did not improve insulin sensitivity and suggests exercisers may not need to starve after exercise to still reap health benefits

Horowitz and colleagues studied nine healthy sedentary men, ages 28-30.