Acute Effects of Oatmeal on Exercise-Induced Reactive Oxygen Species Production Following High-Intensity Interval Training in Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Question
Does pre-exercise oatmeal consumption reduce acute ROS production after HIIT in young healthy women?
Summary
In healthy young women, eating oatmeal about two hours before a bodyweight lower-limb HIIT session reduced the immediate post-exercise rise in reactive oxygen species compared with doing the same HIIT fasted. Lactate rose after HIIT in both groups and perceived exertion was similar.
Methodology
- Healthy young women with BMI 18.5-26 kg/m2, body fat above 20%, and regular physical activity no more than 120 min/week
- 34 participants.
- Squats, lunges, one-legged heel rises.
- Recovery: 30 seconds between sets.
- Intensity: 2-second execution speed; high-intensity lower-limb bodyweight exercise.
- Single session.
- Single session.
- Repeated-measures randomized single-blind controlled acute trial
- Reactive oxygen species, Glucose and lactate, and Perceived exertion were tracked.
Outcomes
ROS
Oatmeal reduced immediate post-HIIT ROS compared with control.
Post-HIIT ROS 0.78 +/- 0.13 versus 0.94 +/- 0.20 uM/min; time x meal p<0.05, eta2=0.234.
Glucose
Glucose was higher in the oatmeal group before HIIT and lower immediately after HIIT than in the control group.
RMANOVA p<0.05; pre-HIIT 5.60 +/- 0.65 versus 4.69 +/- 0.34 mmol/L; post-HIIT 4.80 +/- 0.48 versus 5.33 +/- 0.46 mmol/L.
Lactate
Lactate increased after HIIT, but the group interaction was not significant.
RMANOVA p=0.579.
Borg
Perceived exertion increased post-HIIT with no significant group difference.
RMANOVA p=0.987.
Insights
- A pre-HIIT oatmeal meal may blunt an immediate oxidative-stress marker in healthy young women.
- This bodyweight protocol is more directly app-translatable than ergometer-only HIIT, but the nutrition question is acute and narrow.
Limitations
- Acute single-session study
- Small female-only healthy sample
- No long-term training or performance outcomes
- Comparator was no meal, not an isocaloric non-oat meal
Safety
- All 34 participants completed the trial, and no adverse events were noted.
- Two participants were excluded from data analysis as ROS outliers rather than because of tolerability.
- The article reported no hypoglycemia (<3.5 mmol/L); participants were screened for ACSM contraindications, pregnancy, smoking, and medications affecting ROS.