ReviewSports (Basel, Switzerland)2021
Slow and Steady, or Hard and Fast? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Comparing Body Composition Changes between Interval Training and Moderate Intensity Continuous Training.
Review in Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Effects of Advanced Resistance Training Prescription Methods on Strength, Power, Hypertrophy, and Performance Adaptations in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on body composition and glucose and lipid metabolism in college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Pooled it
- Characteristics of High-Intensity Interval Training Influence Anthropometrics, Glycemic Control, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of Interval Training in Improving Body Composition and Adiposity in Apparently Healthy Adults: An Umbrella Review with Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- The Effect of Feedback on Resistance Training Performance and Adaptations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of resistance training in hypoxia on muscle hypertrophy and strength development: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- International Exercise Recommendations in Older Adults (ICFSR): Expert Consensus Guidelines.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2021Guideline
- Concurrent training effects on H reflex, V wave and contractile properties of the plantar flexors: insights into different resistance training types.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- An acute concurrent exercise bout better preserves cerebrovascular reactivity to hypocapnia than either resistance or aerobic exercise.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Electromyographic activity during bench press differs by attentional focus strategy and sport: a cross-sectional comparison of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and paralympic powerlifting.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Impact of the administration type for normobaric hypoxia on the maximal aerobic capacity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Sports medicine and health science · 2026Review
- Fast Start Strategy in High-Intensity Interval Training in Rugby Union Academy Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Article
- Muscle Rev-erb controls time-dependent adaptations to chronic exercise in mice.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Effect of self-paced sprint interval training and low-volume HIIT on cardiorespiratory fitness: the role of heart rate and power output.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Global consensus on optimal exercise recommendations for enhancing healthy longevity in older adults (ICFSR).The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Review
- High-Intensity Interval Training vs. Medium-Intensity Continuous Training in Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs: A Narrative Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Review
- Minimum velocity threshold in response to the free-weight back squat: reliability and validity of different submaximal loading schemes.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- The Association Between Malignant Otitis Externa and Diabetes Mellitus in Africa: A Systematic Review.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2023Article
- Diabetes Mellitus as a risk factor for stroke among Nigerians: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention · 2023Review
- Effects of Abdominal Microcurrent in the Consumption and Proportion of Energy Substrates during Aerobic Exercise: A Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo conduct a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis of the current literature as to the effects of interval training (IT) vs moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) on measures of body composition, both on a whole-body and regional level.
methodsWe searched English-language papers on PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, and sportrxiv for the following inclusion criteria: (a) randomized controlled trials that directly compared IT vs MICT body composition using a validated measure in healthy children and adults; (b) training was carried out a minimum of once per week for at least four weeks; (c) published in a peer-reviewed English language journal or on a pre-print server.
resultsThe main model for fat mass effects revealed a trivial standardized point estimate with high precision for the interval estimate, with moderate heterogeneity (-0.016 (95%CI -0.07 to 0.04);
conclusionsOur findings provide compelling evidence that the pattern of intensity of effort and volume during endurance exercise (i.e., IT vs MICT) has minimal influence on longitudinal changes in fat mass and FFM, which are likely to minimal anyway. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This study was preregistered on the Open Science Framework.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.