A 7-day Walking Program Performed Either Pre-prandially Or Post-prandially In Overweight Or Obese Adults

Exercise is recognized as an important therapeutic tool for improving health status in overweight or obese individuals, while the time of exercise performed relative to meals may also play a role. PURPOSE: To investigate potential differences in health outcomes in overweight/obese adults following a short-term exercise program performed either pre-prandially or post-prandially. METHODS: Seven men and 5 postmenopausal women with BMI >28 kg/m2, taking no medication, randomly divided into two groups and performed a daily walking program of 30 min twice a day (morning and evening) for 7 consecutive days either pre-prandially (Pre) or postprandially (Post). Baseline and post-intervention assessment included body composition, a 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and a graded walking test to fatigue to measure peak fat oxidation (PFO) and peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). Also, a continuous glucose monitoring device (GlucoMen Day, Menarini) was used to measure the desired time in range (TIR) blood glucose levels (70-140 mg/dl). RESULTS: No differences were observed between Pre and Post groups at baseline. Also, body weight, fat free mass, total area under the blood glucose time curve in OGTT, VO2peak and TIR were not different after intervention in both groups. Waist circumference was reduced (p < 0.05) in both Pre (Before: 106.6 ± 9.2 vs. After: 102.8 ± 7.2 cm) and Post (Before: 109.3 ± 11.3 vs. After: 106 ± 11.6 cm) groups (mean ± SD). Compared to baseline values before intervention, percentage of body fat was reduced (p < 0.05) only in Post (Before: 33.0 ± 10.0 vs. After: 32.2 ± 10.2 %), while PFO increased (p < 0.05) only in Pre group (Before: 0.250 ± 0.101 vs. After: 0.336 ± 0.125 g/min). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data of the study indicate that a 7-day walking program produces similar health-related results when preformed pre-prandially or post-prandially in overweight/obese adults.