Date of Graduation

8-9-2024

Semester of Graduation

Summer

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Kinesiology

Second Advisor

Elizabeth Edwards

Third Advisor

Jeremy Akers

Abstract

There is an increasing global prevalence of prediabetes, commonly diagnosed through increased fasting glucose (GLU). Elevated levels of GLU and triglycerides (TRG) have also been linked with more severe diabetes-related complications. Even a single high-fat meal (HFM) may result in adverse metabolic outcomes, in healthy individuals and prediabetics, which are a better predictor of disease risk than measuring fasting levels. Therefore, reducing these metabolic outcomes after a typical HFM often consumed in the Western diet is of critical importance to reduce chronic disease risk. The aim is to determine whether incorporating polyphenols and dietary fiber into an HFM would reduce postprandial TRG and GLU in prediabetics compared to the HFM without added polyphenols and fiber. We employed a randomized crossover design was utilized where seven subjects diagnosed with prediabetes by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels between 5.7-6.4% were randomly assigned to four HFM conditions: (1) a LPLF meal we have previously shown to increase TRG and GLU, (2) a high polyphenol, high fiber (HPHF) meal, (3) a high polyphenol, low fiber (HPLF) meal, and (4) a low polyphenol, high fiber (LPHF) meal. Each meal was matched in kcals, fat, and carbohydrate, and was 12 kcals/kg of body weight. Subjects arrived at the laboratory after a 12-hour overnight fast, and their weights were measured to ensure stability throughout the study. Catheter insertion was performed to assess baseline values, and then at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 minutes after the last bite of the meal to evaluate metabolic markers (i.e. TRG, GLU, MLI, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) cholesterol and total cholesterol (TC). C-peptide and Insulin will be analyzed upon study completion at each time point. There was a significant increase in TRG (p = 0.018) and GLU (p < 0.001) across time (p < 0.05). At 240 min and 300 min, the HPHF meal had a significantly lower TRG response (p < 0.05), however, was not significant as an interaction between time and condition (p = 0.372). There was no significant interaction for GLU between time and condition (p = 0.395). It does not appear that adjusting polyphenol and fiber content in an HFM attenuates postprandial TRG and GLU. However, with several interesting time-point effects in the HPHF meal, more subjects need to be recruited to determine whether there is significance in a larger sample.

Available for download on Thursday, August 13, 2026

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