Going for a long run ahead of a night of excess is a familiar ritual for many young people, but working up a sweat with a few sharp sprints before tucking into that cheat meal may be a better strategy.

Scientists at the University of Exeter have found that a short burst of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) before a high fat meal is the best way for young people to protect blood vessel function. The new study, published in the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology found that high-intensity exercise is far more effective than moderate-intensity for promoting vascular health in such instances.

Cardiovascular diseases including heart attacks and stroke are the leading cause of death in the UK, and the process underlying these diseases starts in youth. An impairment in the function of blood vessels is thought to be the earliest event in this process, and this is known to occur in the hours after consuming a high fat meal.

The University of Exeter study compared HIIT against moderate-intensity exercise on blood vessel function in adolescent boys and girls after they had consumed a high fat milkshake. It showed that approximately 25 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling prevented the fall in blood vessel function after the high fat meal. However, performing just eight minutes of high-intensity cycling not only prevented this fall, but improved blood vessel function to a level that was superior to moderate-intensity exercise.

“Our study shows that the intensity of exercise plays an important part in protecting blood vessel function in young people after the ingestion of a high fat meal,” said Dr Alan Barker, of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre, Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter.

“Furthermore, both the boys and girls found the high-intensity exercise to be more enjoyable than the moderate-intensity exercise. Considering that very few adolescents currently achieve the recommended minimum of one hour of at least moderate-intensity exercise per day, smaller amounts of exercise performed at a higher-intensity might offer an attractive alternative to improve blood vessel function in adolescents.”

The researchers say the next step is to move the work beyond healthy adolescents and study those with risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as obesity and type I diabetes.

HIIT has proved a hugely popular form of exercise in recent years and exercise pioneer Phillip Mills recently told Health Club Management he expects the trend to continue for some time, given its conduciveness to modern lifestyles.