Do you want maximum or moderate effort when exercising to lose fat?

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

When people are asked why they don’t exercise, most people cite lack of time. Given this common barrier among the population, one possible solution would be to reduce exercise time. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is an interesting way to do this with very little time commitment and interesting results..

In HIIT, we use just one exercise and perform it in bursts of high effort with recovery intervals, such as running and walking on the treadmill, spin bike, and others. HIIT has even been used by astronauts in space travel to minimize the effects of microgravity.

One question of interest to practitioners and researchers is whether HIIT is effective in treating overweight and obesity and whether it may be more effective than continuous moderate-intensity training.

A new study was conducted by Brazilian researchers comparing the effectiveness of HIIT and moderate-intensity training in losing body fat in overweight and obese people. Previous studies have already shown that, on average, within 10 weeks, HIIT is effective in reducing body weight (-1.4 kg of fat), BMI, waist-hip ratio (indicator of the risk of developing diseases), reducing the percentage of fat (-1.3%) and visceral fat.

All of this makes no difference compared to moderate exercise, meaning both are effective and at a similar level. The latest study only went ahead because it singled out other studies that used DEXA, a higher-quality diagnostic imaging test that is the gold standard for measuring body fat.

Results of the new study

Comparisons in the new study did not show superiority of HIIT or moderate-intensity sustained aerobic training, such as running on the treadmill at the same pace for 30 minutes, for reducing body fat percentage. Both HIIT and sustained moderate aerobic approaches are suitable to aid fat loss.

The authors’ hypothesis was disproven as they believed HIIT would be superior, but both types of stimuli were valid and similar in terms of both fat percentage and abdominal visceral fat. People who accumulate more fat in the abdominal area are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Some advantages of HIIT, besides saving time, were increased cardiorespiratory fitness by reducing maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), fasting blood sugar, and total cholesterol.

After all, which exercise to do?

The individual preferences of those who will exercise must be taken into account, which is why HIIT presents itself as a strategy that values ​​time efficiency. with high effort compared to moderate intensity sustained exercise where more time is spent on the activity but you don’t have to put in as much effort. Yet, Moderate exercise may be more enjoyable for most people.

Turning to the possible solution, considering that lack of time is the biggest obstacle to people’s physical inactivity, we understand that it is not as simple as recommending HIIT to people and doing fast sprints on the treadmill. Physical exercise is a complex behavior where one of the variables is time.

Determining which is best for you should be accomplished with the help of a trained physical education professional who takes into account your physical and mental state, as well as your enjoyment of the activity; because this is an important factor for you to continue training. Remember that consistency is more important than density.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). he is doing scientific dissemination on social media there podcast available on Spotify. Author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.