The Effect of Glucose and Sucrose on the Respiratory Quotient and Muscular Efficiency of Exercise

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Abstract
The rest R.Q.'s 6–8 hours after the last meal with no control of the diet vary over a wide range, from 0.69 to 1.00. When the rest R.Q.'s are arranged numerically, the work and recovery, and excess R.Q. values increase if their corresponding rest R.Q. is below 0.88 for pre-sugar experiments or below 0.92 for post-sugar experiments, and decrease if their rest R.Q. is above these figures. These data are interpreted by the hypothesis that when fat is in excess it is converted to carbohydrate and stored, and when carbohydrate is preponderant, the reverse occurs. Sucrose, probably because of the conversion of its fructose component to fat, raises the rest R.Q. higher than do the glucose corn syrups. Following the ingestion of glucose and of sucrose, the excess R.Q.'s, when corrected for the increase due to sugar alone, show that more glucose than sucrose is metabolized during work. No significant changes in muscular efficiency occur after the ingestion of either of the sugars.