Eat before or after exercise?

DEAR DR. GOTT: I walk about two miles every morning to keep in shape. I’ve developed a paunch and what my wife calls a bicycle tire around my middle. To get rid of the paunch and tire, is it better to do the morning walk on an empty stomach or to walk after I’ve eaten something?

Twenty years ago, I would run three or four miles every morning right after I got up, consuming nothing but water, and it seemed to work fine.

DEAR READER: The key words here are “twenty years ago.” Unfortunately, our metabolism changes as we age, and what worked then for most of us probably won’t work as easily now.
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