Exercise for fat loss.

Here is another study which attests to the importance of intensity in exercise when you are looking to lose fat.


Effect of Exercise Training Intensity on Abdominal Visceral Fat and Body Composition.


Abstract:
The metabolic syndrome is a complex clustering of metabolic defects associated with physical inactivity, abdominal adiposity, and aging.

Purpose: To examine the effects of exercise training intensity on abdominal visceral fat (AVF) and body composition in obese women with the metabolic syndrome.

Methods: Twenty-seven middle-aged obese women (mean +/- SD; age = 51 +/- 9yr and body mass index = 34 +/- 6 kg[middle dot]m-2) with the metabolic syndrome completed one of three 16-wk aerobic exercise interventions: (i) no-exercise training (Control): seven participants maintained their existing levels of physical activity; (ii) low-intensity exercise training (LIET): 11 participants exercised 5 d[middle dot]wk-1 at an intensity <= lactate threshold (LT); and (iii) high-intensity exercise training (HIET): nineparticipants exercised 3 d[middle dot]wk-1 at an intensity > LT and 2 d[middle dot]wk-1 <= LT. Exercise time was adjusted to maintain caloric expenditure (400 kcal per session). Single-slice computed tomography scans obtained at the L4-L5 disc space and midthigh were used to determine abdominal fat and thigh muscle cross-sectional areas. Percent body fat was assessed by air displacement plethysmography.

Results: HIET significantly reduced total abdominal fat (P < 0.001), abdominal subcutaneous fat (P = 0.034), and AVF (P = 0.010). There were no significant changes observed in any of these parameters within the Control or the LIET conditions.

Conclusions: The present data indicate that body composition changes are affected by the intensity of exercise training with HIET more effectively for reducing total abdominal fat, subcutaneous abdominal fat, and AVF in obese women with the metabolic syndrome.


Keith has written about this principle in an excellent article:

Exercise (for health) should be intense, of short duration and highly variable. Training for a specific athletic event/sport is an entirely different animal — and not necessarily a healthy one at that.

and as i said earlier, this is the idea behind PACE and the interval part of Turbulence Training.