Medical scientists based at the Universality of Bath, U.K., have found that exercising before eating breakfast tends to burn off more fat compared with exercising at other times of the day. Furthermore, exercising early in the day has the effect of improving how the body responds to insulin, which has the impact of lowering someone’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as from cardiovascular disease.
READ MORE: Is the virtual gym the solution to the rise in obesity?
With the study, thirty men classified as obese or overweight were monitored over a six-week period. The men were divided into two groups. One group ate breakfast before exercise; the other group eat breakfast after exercise. Both of these test groups were compared to a control group (who made no lifestyle changes).
The outcome of this analysis was that those who undertook exercise prior to breakfast tended to burn close to double the amount of fat compared with the group who elected to exercise after breakfast.
The reason for this was due to lower insulin levels relating to those who exercised before breakfast, as a result of the activity of fasting overnight. This meant that this group were required to use more of the fat from their fat tissue as a fuel.
The next wave of research will look at women as well as men, and set out to determine whether the results can be replicated.
The British research has been published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The research paper is titled: “Lipid metabolism links nutrient-exercise timing to insulin sensitivity in men classified as overweight or obese.”
These findings differ slightly to those from the University of Copenhagen. Here researchers have discovered that the impact of exercise appears to differ according to times of day. That is there are different benefits to be found from exercising at different times of the day. Here the time to undertaken exercise depends on what area of the body a person wishes to focus on.
The Danish research found that morning exercise leads to a greater metabolic response in skeletal muscle. Whereas, electing to exercise in the evening leads to increased energy expenditure for a longer period of time
