Joggers crossing Millenium Bridge
(Picture: PA)The best time to do exercise may differ for men and women according to a new US study, with women burning more body fat during morning workouts.
Exercise is good for you at any time, but researchers found that women burned more body fat during morning exercise while men burned more during the evenings.
The study suggested that differences in biological clocks, hormones and sleep-wake cycles between the sexes, could all play a role, reported the BBC.
The study tracked 30 men and 26 women between the ages of 25 and 55 for 12 weeks and monitored the results of a varied fitness programme.
One group exercised for an hour before 8.30am, while the other followed the fitness plan between 6-8pm, with all following the same diet plan.
After testing everyone’s blood pressure and body fat, and their strength, researchers uncovered differences in the best exercise times for men and women.
However, all those who took part improved their health, no matter when they exercised.
“The best time for exercise is the best time you can do it and fit it into your schedule,” Dr Paul Arcerio, lead study author, told the broadcaster.
Dr Arcerio said the study suggests women interested in reducing abdominal fat should aim to exercise in the morning if possible, but those trying women trying to improve muscle strength in their upper body as well as their overall mood and food intake, should exercise in the evenings.
Men on the trial were less sensitive to the time of day they exercised, improving their strength in the mornings and evenings.
However, the professor of health and human physiological sciences at Skidmore College in New York said evening exercise was found to be “ideal for men interested in improving heart and metabolic health, as well as emotional wellbeing”.
Now researchers say more work needs to be done to understand why men and women’s response to exercise timings were different.
The study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, tracked people with a healthy weight, but the researchers say the the findings could prove useful for those who are overweight or obese.
