Glucose Tolerance and Insulin Response to Glucose Load in Body Builders*

Abstract

To find out to what extent body composition affects glucose tolerance, blood glucose (BG) and insulin (IRI) responses to a 100-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were compared in 10 male body builders, 11 untrained lean control subjects, and 11 mildly obese men, all of similar age (19-35 years). In comparison with the remaining two groups, the body builders had the lowest percentage of fat, although their lean body mass (LBM) in absolute terms did not differ from that in obese subjects. Both BG and IRI concentrations during the OGTT were the lowest in body builders, medium in controls, and the highest in obese men. The differences in glucose tolerance between the groups were also demonstrated by comparison of the subjects' BG levels during the OGTT with the respective mean BG values obtained in a reference group of 42 healthy nonobese men aged from 20 to 55 years. The data indicate that body builders show better glucose tolerance and improved insulin action in comparison with untrained, nonobese subjects of similar age and body weight. Lean body mass in absolute terms cannot, however, be considered as a sole determinant of the insulin action in the body since in mildly obese subjects glucose tolerance was considerably reduced in spite of the fact that their LBM was similar to that in body builders. Either muscle hypertrophy or reduced adiposity may account for the beneficial effects of body building on glucose metabolism.