Carbohydrate oxidation and glucose utilisation under hyperglycaemia in aged and young males during exercise at the same relative exercise intensity

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the age-related carbohydrate oxidation and glucose utilisation rate response during exercise at the same relative intensity under hyperglycaemia in aged and young males. Methods: 16 endurance-trained aged (n = 8; 69.1 ± 5.2 year) and young (n = 8; 22.4 ± 2.9 year) males were studied during 40 min of cycling exercise (60% V˙ O 2max ) under both hyperglycaemic and euglycaemic (control) conditions. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline, post-infusion, mid- and post-exercise. Carbohydrate and fat oxidation rates were determined at both 15 and 35 min during exercise, and glucose utilisation rates were calculated. Results: The aged group displayed significantly lower rates of carbohydrate oxidation during exercise during maintained hyperglycemia (15 min = 2.3 ± 0.4 vs. 1.6 ± 0.5 g min −1 ; 35 min = 2.3 ± 0.5 vs. 1.5 ± 0.5 g min −1 ) and control (15 min = 2.2 ± 0.4 vs. 1.6 ± 0.7 g min −1 ; 35 min = 1.9 ± 0.7 vs. 1.3 ± 0.7 g min −1 ) conditions (P = 0.01). The rate of glucose utilisation during exercise was also significantly reduced (85.76 ± 23.95 vs. 56.67 ± 15.09 μM kg −1  min −1 ). There were no differences between age groups for anthropometric measures, fat oxidation, insulin, glucose, NEFA, glycerol and lactate (P > 0.05) although hyperglycemia resulted in elevated glucose and insulin, and attenuated fat metabolite levels. Conclusion: Our findings highlight that ageing results in a reduction in carbohydrate oxidation and utilisation rates during exercise at the same relative exercise intensity.