Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exercise intensity on active and passive intestinal glucose absorption. Eight trained runners (age = 23 ± 2 y; VO2max = 62.1 ± 5.8 mL·kg-1·min-1) performed a 1 h resting experiment and three 1 h treadmill experiments at 30, 50, or 70% VO 2max in a thermoneutral environment. Immediately prior to each experiment, euhydrated subjects ingested a solution containing two non-metabolizable glucose analogs, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (3MG; actively absorbed; 5 g) and D-xylose (passively absorbed; 5 g). During the following 5 h, all urine was collected and the amount of 3MG and D-xylose in the urine was determined. Using repeated measures ANOVA, a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in urinary excretion of each carbohydrate was observed at 70% VO2max compared to the other intensities suggesting that both active and passive intestinal absorption of glucose may be reduced during prolonged running at this intensity.