Correspondence (letter to the editor): Creating Associations With Positive Experiences Is Key

Kesztyüs et al. in their excellent review article confirm that for abdominal obesity, among others, a disciplined, long-term adaptation of dietary habits and lifestyle (365 days/year) is the method of choice (1). In terms of the organismic required muscle activity, allow me to add a recent French meta-analysis to the authors’ reference list. The working group of Maillard et al. confirmed high intensity interval training (HIIT) as a time efficient strategy for reducing abdominal-visceral fat especially in overweight or obese persons, independent of sex (2). In view of the difficulties that many people experience with committing to exercise, we should not underestimate the degree to which overweight/obese persons associate HIIT with positive experiences and perceive it as a feasible and enjoyable form of physical activity (3, 4). For this reason, combined lifestyle interventions in abdominal obesity should—as far as the individual training/health status of the patient permits—integrate into everyday life frequently repeated, short intensive exercise elements with realistic implementation steps.