A public lecture at Loughborough University next week will explore the current trend for high intensity interval training (HIT) and ask ‘can three minutes of exercise a day really improve my fitness and health?’

Next week’s lecture is the first in a new series that aims to share knowledge and research findings from the Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Physical Activity & Lifestyle Biomedical Research Unit (BRU) – a research partnership between Loughborough University and University Hospitals Leicester investigating the role physical activity plays in managing and preventing chronic disease.

The HIT lecture, led by the BRU’s senior research associate Dr James King, will look at the history and the science behind high intensity training, and provide an overview of the latest research being carried out at Loughborough. It takes place on Wednesday 9 April from 7pm in the Clyde Williams Building lecture theatre (refreshments from 6.45pm).

The BRU public lectures are designed to share the University’s latest research with the local community. A further five BRU lectures are planned in 2014, and will cover topics including physical activity and weight control, physical activity and the prevention/management of diabetes, sedentary behaviour and health, exercise for patients with chronic kidney disease, and an update on research findings within the BRU.

The Leicester-Loughborough BRU is part of the University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences (SSEHS) and was set up in 2012 with a £4.5m grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

It has two key themes - physical activity, sedentary behaviour and their links to chronic diseases; and the role of structured exercise programmes in preventing and managing chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes and renal disease. Loughborough is the only non-medical university in the UK to lead a BRU.

All lectures are open to the general public and are free to attend. To register for the HIT lecture or any of the forthcoming series contact Alison Stanley on a.stanley@lboro.ac.uk or 01509 226445.