Changes in some lipid variables in obese women during the early days of fasting

Some aspects of lipid metabolism in obese women were investigated during a 7-day fast. The 44 hospitalized subjects, 18-51 years old with normal or slightly abnormal carbohydrate tolerance, were given an oral glucose tolerance test during the control period and intravenous fat tolerance tests on the first and fifth mornings of the fast. Subjects with normal carbohydrate tolerance averaged lower initial serum triglyceride levels; a dependency of glyceride blood levels on clearance efficiency was noted. Changes during the fast were clearly related to initial levels--plasma triglycerides increased in patients with lower levels and decreased in patients with higher levels. Increased triglyceride is related to a decreased fractional removal rate, and vice versa. Patients who responded to fasting with a decrease of triglyceridemia had the lowest initial cholesterol levels which decreased even more during the fast.