Jun 10, 2015 11:41 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that adolescents should exercise like kids if they want to improve their health outcomes.

Researchers at the University of Exeter found that even though as little as two minutes of high-intensity exercise four times a day improves health outcomes in adolescents, the same amount of moderate-intensity exercise does not reap the same rewards.

When exercise is broken up into short bursts over the course of a day -- replicating the way young children go about being active -- only high-intensity exercise is effective in improving blood sugar levels, fat metabolism and blood pressure in adolescents after the consumption of a fatty meal.

"Children and adolescents tend to perform brief bouts of exercise. This study shows that the intensity of this pattern of exercise is important, with high-intensity providing superior health benefits than moderate-intensity exercise," Dr. Alan Barker said in a statement.

For the study, researchers measured the blood sugar, blood pressure and fat metabolism in adolescents at regular intervals over eight hours.

During this period the participants were asked to perform four bouts of high- or moderate- intensity exercise. The participant performed the same amount of work during the high and moderate- intensity exercise bouts. This allowed the researchers to conclude that the intensity of exercise is important for health in adolescents when the exercise is accumulated during the day.

The findings, detailed in the journal Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that accumulating short bouts of high-intensity exercise may be more important for cardiovascular health than exercising at a moderate intensity. 

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