Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2007
Present literature indicates that whereas an acute fat intake of 5 g does not elicit a postprandial triacylglycerolaemic response, 20 g of fat does. Since 67 % of fat intake occasions involve fat doses of less than 20 g, the present study examined the effect of a relatively low-fat (LF) meal (0·2 g/kg body weight; mean 14 g) on postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) metabolism, compared with a high-fat (HF) meal (0·6 g/kg body weight; mean 43 g), a fat dose which is more typical of laboratory studies. Plasma- and chylomicron-TAG concentrations increased significantly (P ≤ 0·001) following both meals, and the increase was significantly (P ≤ 0·02) greater after the HF meal. The postprandial areas under the curves and maximal postprandial TAG concentrations for plasma- and chylomicron-TAG were significantly higher following the HF meal (P ≤ 0·05). Postprandial plasma insulin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide concentrations increased significantly (P ≤ 0·001) after each meal, but there was no difference between the two meals. These data show that modest amounts of fat in a meal will elicit a measurable postprandial TAG response. Since postprandial lipaemia affects the composition and concentration of the TAG- and cholesterol-rich lipoproteins, controlling dietary TAG supply may influence the metabolic fate of these lipoproteins.