In obese or overweight patients, sessions of moderate to intense physical activity performed in the evening are associated with a lower risk of mortality, cardiovascular and microvascular diseases.
- In one study, 1,425 deaths, 3,980 cardiovascular events, and 2,162 microvascular dysfunction events were recorded during 8 years of follow-up.
- Practicing moderate to intense physical activity between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. reduced the risk of premature death and death due to cardiovascular disease in obese or overweight patients.
- “People who are able to plan their activity at certain times of the day can better protect themselves from some of the risks.”
If you are obese or overweight, what is the best time of day to exercise? This is the question asked by researchers at the University of Sydney (Australia). To answer this, they carried out a study, the results of which were published in the journal Diabetes Care. As part of the work, the team wanted to evaluate the association between the timing of moderate to intense physical activity and the risk of cardiovascular and microvascular diseases and all-cause mortality. To do this, they followed 29,836 adults suffering from obesity. Among them, 2,995 participants were also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
6,142 cardiovascular and microvascular events recorded
For research purposes, scientists have instead focused on tracking continuous physical activity for periods of 3 minutes or more. “We did not discriminate on the type of activity we followed, this could be anything from brisk walking to stair climbing, but it could also include structured exercise like running, professional work or even cleaning the house”, said Matthew Ahmadi, co-author of the study.
The volunteers, who had an accelerometer on their wrist continuously for seven days, were divided into groups based on when they did the majority of their exercises (morning, afternoon and evening). The so-called “control” group did on average less than one sports session per day. At the same time, certain factors, such as age, gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, sedentary time, education, medication use and sleep duration have been taken into account. Over an 8-year follow-up period, 1,425 deaths, 3,980 cardiovascular events and 2,162 microvascular dysfunction events were recorded.
Exercising between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. to benefit from greater health benefits
According to the authors, doing the majority of daily exercises in the evening is linked to greater health benefits for people with obesity. The results showed that patients engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity between 6 p.m. and midnight had the lowest risk of premature death and death from cardiovascular disease. In a statementAngelo Sabag, who directed the work, recalled that “Exercise was by no means the only solution to the obesity crisis, but this research suggests that people who can schedule their activity at certain times of the day can better guard against some of the risks.”
