Back to Studies
View

The Study

The effect of timing of physical exercise on glycemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of human intervention studies

In simple terms

This study looked at lots of smaller studies and found that people who exercise in the morning might have slightly higher blood sugar the next day than those who exercise later. But it doesn't prove that morning exercise causes higher sugar — it just shows a pattern that might be due to other things like what people ate or when they slept.

72%

Analysis score

72/ 100

Maximum 100 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Where the score came from

Reporting40
Methodology55
Publication100
Statistical100
Study type (basis of the score)
Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Level 2a - Systematic review of cohort studies
What’s the bottom line?

This study looked at whether working out in the morning vs. later in the day affects blood sugar levels over time.

Where does this study sit?

Systematic Reviews & Meta-analyses

Max 100

Randomized Trials

Max 90

Cohort Studies

Max 72

Case-Control

Max 58

Cross-Sectional

Max 44

Case Reports & Series

Max 30

Expert Opinion

Max 5
StrongerWeaker
Cohort Studies
Level 2
72

72 / 100

Quality score

Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.

Cannot establish causation

Save studies & get personalized insights

Create a free account to save this study, track new evidence as it comes in, and get breakdowns of studies in the topics you care about.

Key takeaways

Summary

Based on the study abstract and findings.

  1. 1The 0.25 mmol/L rise in fasting sugar is small and may not matter much for health, but it’s a consistent pattern in the data.
  2. 2Morning exercise might help avoid low blood sugar in type 1 diabetes, even if it slightly raises morning fasting levels.
  3. 3Morning exercise raised fasting blood sugar by 0.25 mmol/L after weeks of training.
  4. 4Right after a single workout, morning exercise slightly raised blood sugar too, but not enough to be sure.
  5. 5For people with type 1 diabetes, morning exercise may help keep blood sugar more stable and reduce low sugar episodes.

Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data

Publication

Journal

Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders

Year

2026

Authors

S. B. Schipper, Romy Slebe, L. Schoonmade, Denis P. Blondin, D. Campbell, André C. Carpentier, J. Després, J. Hoeks, Andries Kalsbeek, Parminder Raina, Patrick Schrauwen, Mireille J. Serlie, D. J. Stenvers, Chun-Xia Yi, R. de Mutsert, J. Beulens, F. Rutters

Open Access
Analysis v4
DOI:10.1007/s40200-026-01954-z
PubMed:42220558
View Source
Fit Body Science verdict — we translate health studies into clear verdicts backed by peer-reviewed research.

Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.