People trying to get rid of some of the fat from their bodies should consider exercising in the morning on an empty stomach, a new study suggests.

According to UK scientists, it is already known that exercising after an overnight fast benefits the body. However, they wanted to see if these benefits were undone by an increased appetite and potentially higher calorie consumption later in the day.

Twelve physically active men were asked to exercise on a treadmill at 10am. Half had already had their breakfast, while the other half had not eaten anything since the night before.

After the workout, all the men were given a chocolate milkshake recovery drink. At lunchtime, they were all given a pasta dish and told to eat until they were ‘comfortably full'.

The study found that exercising in the morning did not lead to the consumption of additional calories during the day. In fact, the participants did not appear to have an increased appetite despite the exercise.

However, the study also found that those who had exercised on an empty stomach burned 20% more fat than those who had eaten a breakfast before their workout.

"Our results show that exercise does not increase your appetite, hunger or food consumption later in the day and to get the most out of your session, it may be optimal to perform this after an overnight fast," the scientists from Northumbria University said.

They explained that in order for someone to lose body fat, they must use more fat than they consume.

"Exercise increases the total amount of energy we expend and a greater proportion of this energy comes from existing fat if the exercise is performed after an overnight fast," they explained.

Details of these findings are published in the British Journal of Nutrition.