Research
Energy balance
Interval training reduces visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass and volume in overweight and obese adults, even when overall body fat percentage does not significantly decrease.
If you are overweight or obese, doing interval training 3 times a week for 8 weeks can specifically target dangerous belly fat (VAT) even if your total weight doesn't change much. This suggests that exercise improves metabolic health by changing where fat is stored, not just how much you weigh.
LimitedQualifiesLOW confidence
8wks of interval training in overweight and obese men and women does not result in a decrease in overall body fat but may provide a stimulus for a reduction in VAT storage.
Why this rating
Very small sample size (n=6); abstract only.
Source
High-Protein, Intermittent-Fasting Intervention is Effective in Weight Loss and Improving Arterial Function in Obese Adults
Feng J. He et al. · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2016
DOI 10.1249/01.mss.0000486630.06924.e2
rct · n=40
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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