This article first appeared on RTL.de.
If you want to lose weight, you should exercise and stick to a healthy diet – of course. But which sport is the most effective for losing weight and which of the numerous diets that we know today really leads to the goal?
As part of a study, Norwegian and Australian researchers have now unmasked a true power duo for losing weight. Which sports-diet combination can you use to lose weight most effectively and improve your health? We’ll tell you.
Norwegian and Australian researchers led by study leader Professor John A. Hawley have examined two proven methods in the fight against excess pounds as part of their project. As the scientists state in the publication of their study, both dietary changes and exercise training are proven methods of counteracting obesity.
According to the experts, intermittent fasting and high-intensity interval training, or HIIT for short, have proven effective in the fight against cardiometabolic diseases. Cardiometabolic diseases are those in which the cardiovascular system and/or metabolism are affected. But there is a deficit in research: Up to now, nothing has been known about the effectiveness of these two methods in combination. The experts are trying to close this research gap with the study, which was published in the journal “Cell Metabolism”.
The researchers randomly selected 131 women for their study. What the participants have in common is that they are all overweight and that they are on average 36 years old. In order to be able to make a comparison of how effective the methods are when used separately and in combination, the subjects were divided into four groups:
Group 1: 33 participants did intermittent fasting for seven weeks.
Group 2: 33 test persons regularly completed HIIT training for seven weeks.
Group 3: 32 participants used both methods in combination during the study period.
Group 4: A comparison group consisting of 33 women did not use any of the methods.
Both at the start of the study and after the seven weeks, the subjects were examined for their health. Particular attention was paid to blood sugar and cardiometabolic health.
After evaluating all the data, the experts came to the conclusion that the combination of interval fasting and high-intensity interval training produced the best results. Although all three groups (intermittent fasting, HIIT, and fasting with HIIT) lost weight and fat mass, subject group 3 experienced an above-average reduction in total and visceral (belly fat) fat mass. In addition, the combined application led to an improved HbA1c value. This value shows how high the blood sugar value was over a longer period of time.
Although further studies are needed to confirm their results, the researchers conclude from their results that the HIIT-intermittent fasting combination could be a good strategy to improve metabolic parameters in women at increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases.