Impact of pre- and post-meal exercise on 24-H glucose profiles in young adults who are overweight and obese

The 10-week exercise intervention significantly improved continuous glucose monitoring metrics (notably increased time in range) and cardiometabolic parameters (fasting glucose, insulin, blood pressure, triglycerides) without significant group × time interactions. The pre-meal group maintained consistently lower hypoglycemic exposure than the post-meal group. Triglyceride reduction occurred exclusively with pre-meal exercise, while insulin showed a marginal decrease only with post-meal exercise. These findings demonstrate comparable overall efficacy between timing protocols despite selective benefits for specific parameters.