Yahoo Movies This Is the Best Time of Day to Work Out If You Want to Lose Weight, According to a New Study
The medical journal 'Obesity' published its findings earlier this week
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Man working outThe early bird gets the worm — and sees better workout results.
Earlier this week, the medical journal Obesity published a new study, in which it detailed that individuals who exercise in the morning, as compared to later in the day, see better weight-loss results.
Looking at health data and the activity patterns of over 5,000 people in the United States, the study utilized those who participated in the 2003 to 2006 cycles of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The researchers chose that specific timeframe given that it was when accelerometers, which are also known as activity trackers, were first used in the survey.
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Group of people working outAccording to the study, those who participated had their body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference tracked, before they wore activity trackers for 10 hours or more each day, during a stretch of four to seven days.
The participants who exercised earlier in the day, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., were found to have lower BMI and lower waist size than those who exercised midday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and evening, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Specifically, morning exercisers had an average BMI of 27.5, compared with their midday and evening counterparts, who had an average 28.3 BMI. The average waist circumference, meanwhile, which was adjusted for diet quality and calorie intake, was 37.7 inches, 38.5 inches and 38.4 inches, respectively.
Sex, ethnicity, education, tobacco use and alcohol consumption did not alter the results either, the study showed.
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Lead researcher Tongyu Ma, who is a research assistant professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, told NBC News in a statement that he backs the findings found in the study.
“My cautious suggestion from this study is that if we choose to exercise in the early morning, before we eat, we can potentially lose more weight compared to exercise at other times of the day,” he told the outlet.
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