Eat and Run? Or Just Run?

Anahad O’Connor, the New York Times health question answer person, is hard-pressed to find a simple answer for a reader who wants to know if it’s better to wake up in the morning and run, or wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and run. The real answer, unfortunately, is another question: better for what? O’Connor points out that many people believe that exercising on an empty stomach forces the body to tap into its
reserves, burning off calories stored as fat and providing a more
efficient workout. He also reports that while that assumption is basically true, research has shown that the difference in calories burned is not significant, especially when one factors in the likelihood that exercise taken before food is likely to be shorter than exercise taken when the body is properly fueled. The best solution? O’Connor passes on the advice of  Dr. David Prince, an assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, who suggests eating a small piece of fruit for energy, then going for it.