What is the most effective exercise time during the day?
U.S. researchers say, “Between 7 and 9 in the morning is the most advantageous.”
Maintaining weight and preventing obesity is more effective if you engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. every day, according to a study reported by Yonhap News on the 25th.
Dr. Tong-Wai Ma’s team at Franklin Pierce University in the United States analyzed data from 5,285 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 to confirm the relationship between the time of physical activity and weight management.
The research team found that although there is some controversy over epidemiological evidence for the optimal time for weight management through physical activity, the study showed that engaging in daily MVPA between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. was most beneficial for weight management.
The research team divided the 5,285 participants, who wore accelerometers and participated in physical activity surveys, into the morning (7-9 a.m.), noon (11 a.m.-1 p.m.), and evening (5-8 p.m.) groups based on the time of moderate-to-high-intensity physical activity (MVPA). They investigated how such physical activity patterns affected weight management.
The research team pointed out that previous studies have focused on the frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity and that few studies have categorized daily patterns of physical activity. The relationship between physical activity at different times of the day and obesity has also been unclear.
The participants were divided into morning (642 participants, average age 59.9 years), noon (2,456 participants, average age 49.9 years), and evening (2,187 participants, average age 46.1 years) groups based on age, gender, race, education, smoking, drinking, sedentary time, and MVPA time.
The results showed that even after excluding the effects of age, gender, race, education, smoking, drinking, sedentary time, and MVPA time, the morning group had significantly lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference than the other groups.
Additionally, the morning group maintained a healthier diet and had lower daily energy intake per unit of body weight than the noon or evening groups. Despite spending much more time sitting during the day, the morning group consistently had lower BMI and waist circumference than the other groups.
Professor Ma stated, “This study shows that when it comes to weight management, not only the amount of moderate-to-high-intensity physical activity but also the timing of such exercise can have an impact.”
He continued, “Engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in the early morning (7-9 a.m.) appears to be the most favorable time for obesity management,” and “Morning MVPA can also have a positive impact on preventing obesity in people who sit all day.”
However, the research team added that to validate and generalize these study results, it is necessary to conduct randomized clinical trials with a large sample of participants who engage in morning MVPA.
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