SynthesisHealth promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice2022
Timing of physical activity within the 24-hour day and its influence on health: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shared Determinants of Poor Sleep, Obesity and Adiposity in Adolescents Aged 8-18-Years: A Systematic Review.Journal of sleep research · 2025Pooled it
- Temporal Associations of Physical Activity Volume, Intensity, and Timing With Sleep in Preschool-Aged Children.Journal of sleep research · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of morning versus afternoon aerobic exercise training on reducing metabolic syndrome components: A randomized controlled trial.The Journal of physiology · 2024Trial
- Chrono-Exercise Medicine: Why Biological Timing Matters for Human Health.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Diet, Physical Activity, and Sleep Assessment: A Portfolio Scoping Review of Measures in NIH-Funded Epidemiologic Studies.AJPM focus · 2026Review
- The Association of the Timing of Physical Activity with Cardiometabolic Health in Diabetes: An IMI2 SOPHIA Study.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2026Article
- Editorial: Physical activity in urban areas: Where and when?Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Exercise benefits in metabolism on cardiovascular disease.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Physical activity, sedentary behavior and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Diurnal timing and volume of physical activity in relation to metabolic syndrome in US adults: a population-based cohort study.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Beyond FITT: addressing density in understanding the dose-response relationships of physical activity with health-an example based on brain health.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Timing of Physical Activity and Associations with BMI and Weekly Physical Activity in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.Research quarterly for exercise and sport · 2025Article
- Timing of resistance exercise and cardiometabolic outcomes in adults with prediabetes: a secondary analysis.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2025Article
- Longitudinal timing of physical activity and associated cardiometabolic and behavioral health outcomes in young adults.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Article
- Cognitive, social, and behavioral effects of music and motor intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder: the role of time of day.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Social activities and different intensities of physical activity among older adults in China: a population-based cohort study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The relationship between physical activity level and timing and sleep quality and hygiene in healthy individuals: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Associations Between Physical Activity Patterns and Cardiovascular Events and Risk Factors: Cross-Sectional and Prospective Studies.JACC. Advances · 2024Article
- It's about time to exercise: development of the Exercise Participation Explained in Relation to Time (EXPERT) model.British journal of sports medicine · 2024Review
- Diurnal timing of physical activity and risk of colorectal cancer in the UK Biobank.BMC medicine · 2024Article
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 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent studies report that the health benefits of physical activity differ depending on whether the activity is performed in the morning, afternoon or evening. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine whether the timing of physical activity within the 24-hour day is associated with health.
methodsFive databases were searched for English or French language peer-reviewed studies that examined whether the timing of physical activity within the day is associated with health. No limits were placed on publication year, study population, study design or health outcomes. Studies that examined acute effects of physical activity or timing of physical activity around food intake were excluded.
resultsThis systematic review examined 35 studies, with 17 259 participants, and the following health outcomes: measures of sleep health, adiposity, fat-free mass and muscle size, cardiometabolic biomarkers, physical function and mobility, mental health, and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. Heterogeneity across studies precluded meta-analyses, and we present our findings using narrative syntheses. Of the 35 studies, 11 reported that morning physical activity provides greater health benefits than afternoon/ evening physical activity, while 12 found that morning physical activity provides fewer health benefits than afternoon/evening physical. In the remaining 12 studies, there was no clear difference in health benefits based on the timing of physical activity. The quality of evidence for the different health outcomes across study designs was very low.
conclusionThere is no consistent evidence that physical activity at one time of day provides more favourable health benefits than physical activity at a different time of day. (PROSPERO registration no.: CRD42021231088).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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 OpenQuestion graph.