Exercising before breakfast is better than exercising afterwards according to new research by scientists at the University of Glasgow.
Dr Jason Gill and Nor Farah of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences conducted a study to compare the effects of exercise performed before and after breakfast on fat loss and metabolic health.
Ten overweight men who were not regular exercisers took part in the study. Each man underwent three trials, one to two weeks apart, involving performing no exercise then eating breakfast; walking briskly for 60 minutes before eating breakfast; or doing the same walk after eating breakfast.
Participant were given lunch three-and-a-half hours after breakfast and the amount of fat their body burnt, and the levels of fat, sugars and insulin in the blood were measured over an eight-and-a-half hour period on each occasion.
The results indicated that both timings of exercise increased fat burning over the day and improved the metabolic profile in the blood. But, exercise before breakfast resulted in greater fat loss and larger reductions in the level of fat in the blood.
The research paper, ‘Effects of exercise before or after meal ingestion on fat balance and postprandial metabolism in overweight men’ is published in the latest edition of the British Journal of Nutrition.
EH News Bureau