Why exercising in afternoon or evening could be more effective for diabetics?

The researchers, who were looking at the impact of a sedentary lifestyle on liver fat content and insulin resistance, found that insulin resistance fell at about the same rate in people who had evenly distributed physical activity throughout the day. throughout the day (5 percent) and in those who exercised in the morning (3 percent).

By comparison, people who did their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in the afternoon (12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) had insulin resistance reduced by 18 percent and those who did it in the evening (6:00 p.m.). 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m.) dropped by 25 percent, found researchers who studied data on 775 people with a mean age of 56 and a BMI of 26.2.

“We already know that if you spend time sitting all day, exercising in the morning may not be enough. Unfortunately, the recommendation of 180 minutes of physical activity in a week is inadequate,” said Dr. Ambrish Mithal, president and director of diabetes and endocrinology at Max Healthcare.

So what do you need to do? Walking during the day and five to 10 minutes of activity after meals can help, the doctor said.

“Studies have shown that just five to ten minutes of exercise after meals is effective in lowering blood sugar levels. We do not recommend it for patients with heart problems, but it is very good for diabetics. After the meal, people can go for a short walk and do some stretching,” she said, adding that it’s important to continue the 40 to 45 minutes of rigorous exercise in the mornings as well to ensure heart health.

“Exercising for five to ten minutes, while good for blood sugar control, is not enough to increase cardiac reserve. For that, longer duration exercises that push a person a bit are important,” said Dr. Mithal. For heart health, any aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or aerobic exercises that raise your heart rate, is good. Although traditional yogasana might not help with this, yoga performed at a high tempo, such as several rapid repetitions of Surya Namaskars, can also help, Dr. Mithal said.

“We are also recommending some form of resistance training now, at least twice a week if people can do weights for even ten minutes, it can help prevent muscle loss. If you prevent the loss of muscle mass, you improve the activity of insulin. Low muscle mass has now been shown to increase insulin resistance,” said Dr. Mithal.

Although Dr. Mithal still does not recommend physical activity only in the afternoon or at night, it is likely that it will be more difficult to go for a walk in the morning with the increase in pollution levels in Delhi. “Still, people should make sure they regularly exercise indoors. Today there are several applications that can help.”

The study from the Netherlands, recently published in the journal Diabetologia, states that the timing of physical activity has no impact on the fat content of the liver. Interestingly, the researchers did not see less sedentary time and more breaks in this sedentary time resulting in lower liver fat content or insulin resistance.

“The timing of exercise is a relatively unexplored field in human studies. We found that moderate to vigorous physical activity in the afternoon or evening, compared to an even distribution during the day, was associated with lower insulin resistance,” the study said.