GI varies according to fitness

How high- or low-GI a food is to you, may depend on how fit you are.

Researchers in Switzerland compared the glycaemic response to a commercial breakfast cereal of 34 young men with normal body mass index (BMI) and normal glucose tolerance.

Ten of the young men were sedentary in their habits, 12 were moderately trained and the remaining 12 were trained endurance athletes.

They found the GI measure was significantly lower for the endurance athletes compared to the sedentary men, and the GI for the moderately trained fell between the two measures.

While these results cannot be fully explained yet, they do highlight another potential benefit of increased fitness levels: lower glycaemic response to foods.

Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2007