Pre-exercise Ingestion of a Low Glycaemic Index Rice-based Mixed Meal Increases Fat Oxidation and Endurance Running in a Hot-humid Environment

The objective of this research is to determine the influence of low and high glycemic index Malaysian pre-exercise mixed meals on endurance exercise performance in a hot-humid environment. Glycemic index (GI) is a method used to classify CHO-containing foods based on their influence on postprandial blood glucose when compared to the response on blood glucose after ingesting the same amount of CHO from a reference food (glucose or bread). Low GI (LGI) foods are digested and absorbed more slowly as compared to high GI (HGI) foods, resulting in a stable rise in blood glucose levels. The participants were trained male endurance long-distance runners. On the day of experimental trials, they consumed pre-exercise rice-based mixed meal, either LGI or HGI 3 hours before endurance running exercise. After that, they ran for 45 minutes at constant running speed equivalent to 70% VO2peak, followed by 10km time-trial. The respiratory gases, blood measures, rectal and skin temperature were measured throughout the running test.