Trial reportPhysiological reports2021
Exercise training elicits superior metabolic effects when performed in the afternoon compared to morning in metabolically compromised humans.
Trial report in Physiological reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 61 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Optimizing the Beneficial Health Effects of Exercise for Diabetes: Focus on the Liver!
the Effect of Fasted Versus Post-meal HIIT on Glycemic Control in Men With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Timed Exercise in Prediabetes With Extreme Chronotype
Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of evening exercise on anthropometric indices, metabolic profiles, and sleep health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of timed exercise interventions on patient-reported outcome measures: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Metabolic Adaptations to Morning Versus Afternoon Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Best Time of Day for Strength and Endurance Training to Improve Health and Performance? A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Inflammatory markers and blood glucose are higher after morning vs afternoon exercise in type 2 diabetes.Diabetologia · 2025Trial
- Differential benefits of 12-week morning vs. evening aerobic exercise on sleep and cardiometabolic health: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effect of physical activity on changes in weight and aerobic capacity during an 18-month behavioral weight loss intervention.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- Glycaemic Response to Acute Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise Performed in the Morning or Afternoon in Healthy Subjects: A Crossover Trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2024Trial
- Morning exercise and pre-breakfast metformin interact to reduce glycaemia in people with type 2 diabetes: a randomized crossover trial.The Journal of physiology · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of morning versus afternoon aerobic exercise training on reducing metabolic syndrome components: A randomized controlled trial.The Journal of physiology · 2024Trial
- Association of Timing of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity With Changes in Glycemic Control Over 4 Years in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes From the Look AHEAD Trial.Diabetes care · 2023Trial
- Trial
- High-intensity interval training combining rowing and cycling efficiently improves insulin sensitivity, body composition and VOFrontiers in endocrinology · 2022Trial
- The effect of morning vs evening exercise training on glycaemic control and serum metabolites in overweight/obese men: a randomised trial.Diabetologia · 2021Trial
- Effect of exercise training on skeletal muscle protein expression in relation to insulin sensitivity: Per-protocol analysis of a randomized controlled trial (GO-ACTIWE).Physiological reports · 2021Trial
- Exercise training elicits superior metabolic effects when performed in the afternoon compared to morning in metabolically compromised humans.Physiological reports · 2021Trial
- Effects of exercise intensity on circadian rhythm and glucose regulation in adults with obesity: a randomized crossover trial.Physical activity and nutrition · 2026Article
- Circadian biology and exercise: the time to move.Life metabolism · 2026Review
- Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The circadian clock and metabolism are tightly intertwined. Hence, the specific timing of interventions that target metabolic changes may affect their efficacy. Here we retrospectively compared the metabolic health effects of morning versus afternoon exercise training in metabolically compromised subjects enrolled in a 12-week exercise training program. Thirty-two adult males (58 ± 7 yrs) at risk for or diagnosed with type 2 diabetes performed 12 weeks of supervised exercise training either in the morning (8.00-10.00 a.m., N = 12) or in the afternoon (3.00-6.00 p.m., N = 20). Compared to participants who trained in the morning, participants who trained in the afternoon experienced superior beneficial effects of exercise training on peripheral insulin sensitivity (+5.2 ± 6.4 vs. -0.5 ± 5.4 μmol/min/kgFFM, p = .03), insulin-mediated suppression of adipose tissue lipolysis (-4.5 ± 13.7% vs. +5.9 ± 11%, p = .04), fasting plasma glucose levels (-0.3 ± 1.0 vs. +0.5 ± 0.8 mmol/l, p = .02), exercise performance (+0.40 ± 0.2 vs. +0.2 ± 0.1 W/kg, p = .05) and fat mass (-1.2 ± 1.3 vs. -0.2 ± 1.0 kg, p = .03). In addition, exercise training in the afternoon also tended to elicit superior effects on basal hepatic glucose output (p = .057). Our findings suggest that metabolically compromised subjects may reap more pronounced metabolic benefits from exercise training when this training is performed in the afternoon versus morning. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV ID: NCT01317576.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.