Morning, Afternoon Exercise May Cut Diabetes Risk

TUESDAY, Sept. 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Morning and afternoon physical activity are associated with a lower risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online Sept. 20 in Diabetologia.

Caiwei Tian, from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and colleagues examined the relationship between morning, afternoon, or evening physical activity and consistency (e.g., routine) and the risk for type 2 diabetes. The analysis included data from 93,095 U.K. Biobank participants (mean age, 62 years) free from type 2 diabetes who wore a wrist-worn accelerometer for one week.

The researchers observed a protective association between morning and afternoon exercise with type 2 diabetes, with no differences between metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-measured morning and afternoon physical activity. When adjusting for lifestyle factors (e.g., sleep time and diet), the effect of a substitution between afternoon and evening physical activity was attenuated. There was no association seen for consistency of MET-measured physical activity and type 2 diabetes. At all times of day, moderate-to-vigorous and vigorous physical activity were associated with a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.

"The time of the day when being active may matter for mitigating the risk of type 2 diabetes, but overall physical activity, regardless of time of day and consistency, is the most important," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text