Sprinting may be better than marathon running for health – certainly for teenagers, British researchers say today.
The findings raise questions about the traditional fitness activity of jogging.
According to the Scottish researchers, sprinting and high-intensity exercise may be as much as six times as effective as long-distance activity.
The research at the University of the West of Scotland involved school children.
Over seven weeks one group spent a total of seven hours on steady running – while another group spent just 63 minutes on a series of 30 second sprints.
The researchers say both activities led to improvements in heart fitness, blood pressure and insulin resistance.
However the long distance runners shed five times as many calories as the sprinters.
The findings are published in the American Journal of Human Biology.
Researcher Duncan Buchan said: "This is the first study to demonstrate the effects of a novel interval training programme on both traditional and novel cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents."
Experts said the research showed both kinds of exercise could be effective.
Cathy Ross, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study confirms that both interval and endurance training have significant benefits in reducing the risk of heart and circulatory disease.
"However, it highlighted that interval training achieved similar results in less time, and had a greater positive effect on reducing blood pressure in the short term.
"The results are another reminder that any type of physical activity, performed at the right level, is essential for long term health and need not take over our lives. We expect further long term studies to add more detail on the benefits too."
The Effects of Time and Intensity of Exercise on Novel and Established Markers of CVD in Adolescent Youth Buchan. D, Ollis. S, Young. J.D, Thomas. N, Cooper. S, Tong. T, Nie. J, Malina. R, Baker. J.S, American Journal of Human Biology, Wiley-Blackwell, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.21166
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