January 2020

A British group scientist performed a meta-review and meta-analysis to establish the benefits, safety and adherence of High-intensity-interval-training interventions across all populations.

Evidence suggested HIIT improved cardiorespiratory fitness, anthropometric measures, blood glucose and glycaemic control, arterial compliance and vascular function, cardiac function, heart rate, some inflammatory markers, exercise capacity and muscle mass, versus non-active controls. Compared to active controls, HIIT improved cardiorespiratory fitness, some inflammatory markers and muscle structure. Improvements in anxiety and depression were seen compared to pre-training. Additionally, no acute injuries were reported, and mean adherence rates surpassed 80% in most systematic reviews.

J Sports Sci. 2019 Dec 31:1-40. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2019.1706829.