© Archive photo ANP
Marieta Kroft
Leiden
Those who mainly exercise in the afternoon and evening probably have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who mainly exercise in the morning or throughout the day. Researchers from the LUMC discovered this.
The researchers publish their results in the journal Diabetologia.
Vier types
About eight hundred participants in the so-called Dutch Epidemiology of Obesity (NEO) study wore an ActiHeart device on their chest for four days. That device closely monitored the heart rate and movement.
Sports scientist Jeroen van der Velde explains that he and epidemiologist Renée de Mutsert were able to distinguish four types of movers. “People who moved mainly in the morning, afternoon or evening and people who did not have a clear peak in movement and who therefore moved a little throughout the day.” They saw that participants who moved mainly in the afternoon and ‘ exercised in the evening, are more sensitive to insulin than participants who exercised throughout the day and especially in the morning. The more sensitive a person is to this hormone that regulates sugar levels in the blood, the lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Continuation
As a follow-up to the study, the researchers want to see whether people who mainly exercise in the afternoon and evening are actually less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
The research by De Mutsert and Van der Velde is part of the so-called NEO study, in which measurements were taken on about 6,500 overweight and obese people from Leiden and the region to find out the causes of health problems such as diabetes. They are also working together with an international group of researchers who are looking at whether eating and exercising at certain times of the day can contribute to the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Ultimately, the studies should lead to recommendations for sleeping, eating and exercising that will reduce the risk of diabetes.