Exercising in the morning and afternoon can better prevent diabetes
2023-11-24
Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high blood sugar, affecting 537 million people worldwide, 90% of whom are type 2 diabetes. Diabetes has been listed as one of the four major non-communicable diseases by the United Nations and is the main cause of human disability and death.
Exercise is an essential measure in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Regular exercise helps control weight, improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood sugar levels, and improves cardiovascular health.
However, exercise is also particular. The time of exercise (morning, afternoon or evening) is different, and the impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes is also different. A study published in Diabetologia found that engaging in more physical activity in the morning or afternoon appeared to be better at reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes than in the evening.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and other institutions analyzed data from the UK biobank, including a total of 93,095 participants aged 37-73. When joining the study, none of the participants had type 2 diabetes, the average age was 62 years, and 56.6% were women.
Through questionnaires, researchers collected basic information such as height and weight of participants; lifestyle information such as smoking status, alcohol consumption, sleep time and diet; and family history of type 2 diabetes.
In addition, by asking participants to wear accelerometers for 7 consecutive days, the researchers counted the participants' sedentary time, total physical activity (including housework, walking, moderate to high-intensity exercise, etc.) and different Intensity of exercise and their daily metabolic equivalents (METs) were calculated.
The 3 different time periods are: morning (6:00-12:00), afternoon (12:00-18:00) and evening (18:00-24:00).
MET is the ratio of energy expended during physical activity to the energy expended while sitting or standing (inactive). When consuming the same amount of energy, the higher the MET value, the greater the intensity of physical activity and the shorter the time required; the lower the MET value, the lower the intensity of physical activity and the longer the time required.
When sitting or standing quietly, the MET value is 1; when MET ≥ 3, it is a moderate-intensity physical activity; when MET ≥ 6, it is a high-intensity physical activity.
The energy consumed in 1 MET hour is equivalent to about 20 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity with a MET of 3; or about 10 minutes of high-intensity physical activity with a MET of 6.
During an average follow-up period of 6.6 years, a total of 1,657 participants developed new type 2 diabetes.
After controlling for other factors, the researchers found that engaging in more physical activity in the morning and afternoon was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes than in the evening.
Each MET-hour increase in morning and afternoon physical activity was associated with a 10% and 9% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, respectively.
For every 1 MET hour increase in evening physical activity, the association with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes was not significant, only 5%.
Compared with the fifth of participants with the least physical activity in the morning, afternoon and evening, the risk of type 2 diabetes was reduced by 38%, 27% and 24% respectively in the fifth of participants who were most physically active.
Replacing 1 MET hour of physical activity in the evening with morning or afternoon hours was associated with a 6% and 5% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, respectively.
In addition, the study also found that: regardless of whether it is morning, afternoon or evening, moderate-intensity or high-intensity physical activity is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes; compared with men, women who engage in more physical activity in the afternoon are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. The association was more significant; among participants aged >65 years, there was no significant association between physical activity in the evening and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers analyzed that different times of physical activity have different effects on the risk of type 2 diabetes, which may be related to the body's biological clock, diet and sleeping habits. However, the specific biological mechanism is not clear and more research is needed.
It should be noted that this study was an observational study and only showed an association between more physical activity at different times and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, and did not indicate a cause-and-effect relationship. Moreover, the study also has some limitations, such as part of the data relying on participants' memories, which may also affect the results of the study.
The study concluded that the findings of this study highlight that total physical activity is an important factor affecting the risk of type 2 diabetes, and that the timing of physical activity may play a role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers say that while more physical activity in the morning, afternoon and evening can all help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, the effect may be greater in the morning and afternoon, and it is best to do moderate or high physical activity during these two times. Intense physical activity, which will help better reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and other diseases.
Researchers remind that if you want to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes through physical activity, in addition to paying attention to time, you should also pay attention to the following aspects to achieve better results:
Assess health, including taking medical history and recording hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other diseases that affect physical activity.
Assess exercise abilities such as endurance, upper body strength, lower body strength, balance, and flexibility; assess exercise safety and cardiorespiratory endurance.
Set goals and develop an exercise plan from Monday to Friday and weekends, including exercise duration, time and type.
Choose sports, choose the ones you like and suitable, you can consider walking, jogging, swimming, gardening, ball games, dancing, fitness, dumbbells, etc.
Set the intensity at ≥30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per day, gradually reaching the goal of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise per week, or an equal combination of the two. If it cannot last for 30 minutes, it can be changed to 10 minutes/time, 3 times a day. At the same time, do resistance training more than 2 times a week, lasting 30 minutes each time.
It is necessary to avoid injuries during exercise, choose appropriate exercise methods, intensity, exercise environment and equipment, and monitor the effects in a timely manner to avoid sports injuries.
Make timely adjustments. When weight loss is too rapid, physical fatigue and functional decline occur, exercise load should be appropriately reduced; when weight changes are not obvious, exercise load should be increased to accelerate fat loss.
