Brief Activity Bursts May Boost Weight Loss Effectiveness

Summary: A new study shows that training using bursts of high-intensity physical activity is more effective for weight loss and burning calories than prolonged exercise at a constant pace.

 In a nation where 70% of individuals are either obese or overweight, reducing body weight is of significant importance in reducing the risk of various chronic ailments. It would be right to call obesity the biggest pandemic ever faced by humanity. Yet, a large number of people are not paying sufficient attention to weight loss.

Of course, most people in the US are aware of weight loss methods. They understand that the two most effective weight loss methods are dietary measures and exercise. Moreover, these methods have a range of other benefits for metabolic health, such as helping normalize lipid profile, blood sugar level, and stress, as well as reducing blood pressure.

When it comes to exercise, guidelines are pretty much well established. American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) guidelines regarding exercise are most widely accepted. These guidelines say that one should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week or, even better, aim for 300 minutes a week.

However, not everyone is ready for such efforts for various reasons. Even fulfilling the minimal target of 150 minutes of exercise or 30 minutes of exercise five days a week is challenging for many. Some are too busy, and others find it difficult to take out 30-60 minutes of time for exercise.

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So, researchers are looking for other, perhaps more efficient ways of weight loss. These methods require less time to be dedicated, and some of these methods are equally good or even more efficient. One such way to achieve faster and more sustained weight loss is a high-intensity workout. Which often means training in brief bursts.

Recently, a new study was published, which compared sustained exercise for specific time periods to short and more demanding bouts of physical activity like climbing stairs in the first place or sprinting for a few minutes.

They found that short bouts of exercise resulted in much more oxygen utilization, which essentially means greater energy use or burning of calories. This is because if one consistently trains at a fixed pace, it appears that the body gets used to that kind of training and becomes more efficient. So, short bursts of intensive training may result in burning 20-60% more energy, which is much less training time.

So, what does that mean in practice? These findings can be used for weight loss in multiple ways. For example, those who cannot train regularly may benefit from short but more extensive bursts of physical training, which may even mean climbing stairs at a fast pace. A few minutes of such an exercise may have significant benefits.

It also means that those who train regularly, like walking or jogging daily, may benefit by introducing short bursts of more extensive training into their regime. In this way, they may see greater weight loss and health benefits in a shorter time.

It is vital to understand that if you train at a similar pace daily, your body gets used to it. It simply becomes more efficient at doing that job, which means that it spends less energy doing that specific exercise.

Of course, researchers say that there are some limitations to their findings, and they are unsure if their findings are generalizable. This particular study was done in young and relatively healthy adults. Further, the sample size of the study was small, compromising of just 10 individuals.

Despite these limitations, we can still say that this study adds something to the pre-existing knowledge. After all, it is not the first study to show that short bursts of high-intensity training can be quite helpful in burning calories and, thus, weight loss.

Source:

Luciano, F., Ruggiero, L., Minetti, A. E., & Pavei, G. (2024). Move less, spend more: The metabolic demands of short walking bouts. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291(2033), 20241220. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1220