Strawberry intake, exercise and post-meal blood fats in overweight men
What it found
In overweight and obese men, eating freeze-dried strawberries with a high-fat meal did not lower blood triglycerides after the meal.
Exercise the day before did lower them.
What they found
Studies in people
Triglycerides after exercise
Triglyceride levels after the meal were lower for the exercise conditions than the rest conditions. The authors say this shows the exercise was effective at reducing post-meal blood fats.
Strawberries and triglycerides
Triglyceride levels after the meal were not different between the strawberry and placebo conditions. The authors say strawberry intake did not improve post-meal triglycerides.
Incremental triglycerides
The incremental rise in triglycerides was greater with strawberries than with placebo. The authors suggest the fructose in the strawberries may have contributed to this.
Oxidative stress markers
There were no changes in markers of lipid-related oxidative stress between any of the conditions.
Cholesterol and glucose
Cholesterol after the meal was lower in the exercise conditions. There were no differences in HDL, LDL or glucose responses between conditions.
What the authors conclude
“However, strawberry ingestion did not improve postprandial TAG.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say acute submaximal high intensity interval cycling exercise appears effective in reducing postprandial lipemia in overweight and obese adult males.
- They say freeze-dried strawberry supplementation within a meal containing dairy products did not improve postprandial triglyceride response, which may be related to the fructose and total carbohydrate content of the meal.
- They recommend that future studies investigate the role of carbohydrate and polyphenols in reducing postprandial lipaemia and evaluate the effects of acute submaximal high intensity exercise in dyslipidaemic males and females.
How it was done
Raised triglycerides after eating and related oxidative stress are strongly linked to higher cardiovascular disease risk. Exercise and strawberries have each been reported to help on their own, but the combined effects were unknown.
Ten overweight or obese adult men each completed four high-fat test meals (73 g fat, 33 g carbohydrate), two with 25 g freeze-dried strawberries and two with strawberry flavouring as a placebo. Before one strawberry and one placebo meal they did 40 minutes of interval cycling 16 hours earlier, and rested before the other two. Blood was sampled at baseline and hourly for 4 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study of ten overweight or obese men, so the results may not apply to other groups such as women or people of different weights.
- The test meal was not typical of everyday eating, so the findings may not reflect what happens with usual diets.
- The study could not rule out the influence of food eaten in the 24 hours before each test meal.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Northumbria University, UNITED KINGDOM; University of Hull, UNITED KINGDOM
The paper
- Title
- The Effects of Acute Interval Exercise and Strawberry Intake on Postprandial Lipemia
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- O'Doherty AF, Jones HS, Sathyapalan T, Ingle L, Carroll S (2017). The Effects of Acute Interval Exercise and Strawberry Intake on Postprandial Lipemia. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001341Free full textPubMed 29045326DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error