(Australia-NewsWire.Com, November 14, 2012 ) Victoria, Australia -- Doing exercise before breakfast might be more beneficial than doing it after, researchers say.
In a study of the effects of physical activity on overweight men, scientists found that there may be additional benefit from exercise before eating. The study was conducted by Dr. Jason Gill and Nor Farah at the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences.
Further research is needed to measure long-term effects, researchers said.
The study involved 10 men who were overweight. Researchers examined metabolic health and fat loss before and after breakfast.
The research was divided into three trials: one with no exercise before breakfast; the second with the morning meal after a brisk, 1-hour walk; and the third with the walk after breakfast. Three and a half hours after breakfast, the men were given lunch.
Over a period of eight and a half hours, researchers observed the amount of fat the men burned and their levels of fat, insulin, and sugars.
Both trials that included walking improved fat burning for the day, but exercise ahead of breakfast produced greater weight loss, researchers found. It also resulted in a greater decrease in the blood’s fat level.
“Any exercise you do is beneficial, but the indications are that there might be an extra benefit associated with exercising before eating, compared to after,” Gill told The Independent. “However, further study is needed to determine whether the present findings extend over the long term.”
Despite the difference in the timing of the exercise, however, the researchers emphasized the importance of physical activity.
“In the end, we would like to encourage everyone to do some form of exercise every day,” Gill told The Independent. “The difference between exercising before compared to after breakfast was much smaller than the difference between exercising at either time compared to not exercising at all.”
The study was reported in the British Journal of Nutrition.
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