Exercise is an important part of staying fit and avoiding excessive weight gain, but experts are beginning to understand that the foods we choose to eat after exercising are important, as well. The data, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, supports previous findings that indicate that the benefits of exercise are transient, and generally recede within a day or two, making it all the more important to maintain regularity in not only our fitness regimens, but in our diets, as well.

The reason for this is that different foods after exertion have different effects on our metabolism, particularly on our level of insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity is a measure of how efficiently our bodies absorb sugar from the blood stream and send it to tissue, where it is used for fuel and stored as fat.

In the study in question, men between the ages of 28 to 30 years attended morning sessions after an evening of fasting. They then exercised at varying degrees of intensity and were given meals that, with the exception of one, matched their caloric expenditure but had either an adequate balance of nutrients (i.e., protein, carbohydrates and fat) or were low in carbohydrates. One of the meals was lower in calories but was higher in carbohydrate content.

What the researchers observed was that after exercising, all of the subjects experienced increased insulin sensitivity, but this effect was even more pronounced when they ate fewer carbohydrates. This supports the idea that while exercise is important for maintaining a proper balance of calories, what a person eats afterwards can contribute to our overall caloric metabolism.

This, in turn, has implications on how the body processes calories, and whether they are used for energy or stored as fat. In certain cases, insulin sensitivity, also referred to as insulin resistance, can be a serious medical condition which predisposes people to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Insulin resistance is a condition whereby the body produces adequate levels of insulin, but the cells no longer respond to it properly. As a result, our bodies are no longer able to break down glucose, which is our main source of energy. In order to compensate, the pancreas produces even more insulin, until it can no longer keep up. Eventually, both insulin and glucose build up in the blood, which can lead to diabetes.

According to recent statistics, over 23 million people in this country have diabetes, or 7.8%, and one of the biggest groups to be affected are children. If the current trend continues unabated, experts predict that one in three children born in 2000 will come down with diabetes.

While there may be a strong genetic component to diabetes, excessive weight and sedentary lifestyle can be significant contributing factors. With this in mind, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise can go a long way in preventing the condition. If you have questions or concerns, speak with your physician and visit the website for the National Institutes of Health.