The Study
The Effect of High Intensity Interval Training and Resistance Training in Altering Body Composition of Obese Postmenopausal Women
This study tried to see if two kinds of exercise — fast bursts or lifting weights — help women lose body fat after menopause. It found both helped a little, but didn’t prove one was better than the other. So we can say they both seem to help, but we can’t say one is the winner.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two groups of women over 45 who were overweight tried either sprinting in short bursts or lifting weights for four weeks — both tried three times a week.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 554 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — losing even a little belly fat can lower disease risk, and both workouts worked equally well in just four weeks.
- 2Both groups lost a little belly fat and weight — the sprinters lost 0.2 BMI points and 0.1 waist circumference points more than the weightlifters, but the difference was too small to matter statistically.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy - An International Journal
Year
2024
Authors
Evangaline Melkiya, P. Suganthirababu, Jeslin Godwin Nirmala, T. K. Jebasingh
Related Content
Claims (5)
Obese postmenopausal women who did either high-intensity interval training or resistance training three times a week for four weeks experienced measurable decreases in body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio.
After four weeks of supervised high-intensity interval training or resistance training, obese postmenopausal women experience a reduction in waist circumference.
In obese postmenopausal women, four weeks of high-intensity interval training and four weeks of resistance training result in the same amount of reduction in waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio.
In obese postmenopausal women, four weeks of resistance training reduces body mass index just as much as four weeks of high-intensity interval training.
Obese postmenopausal women who did either high-intensity interval training or resistance training three times a week for four weeks experienced measurable decreases in body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio, and neither exercise type was more effective than the other.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.