I use to do a lot of HIIT when I first started out. I hate doing cardio and because HIIT only requires a little of my time, I decided it was a better route for me.
The reason that I prefer this over a steady form of cardio is simply, steady pace of cardio is just plain boring. With HIIT, you can mix things up. You can do jump ropes, ball slams, sprints, pretty much anything that will get your heart-rate up. A very important thing with HITT is you should never allow your body to adjust to just one intensity level.
It's obvious that you will burn more fat when performing at a high intensity level rather than a low intensity level. Studies have shown that if you're exercising at a 75-90% of maximum heart rate lost much more body fat compared to someone that exercised at a 60-70% of their maximum heart rate.
I hope percentage helps a bit. As far as if you should continue to do HITT or a steady pace of cardio, everyones body is different. I did HIIT because it's much more challenging and short! Obviously the steady pace cardio is less dangerous, but the reward factor is much higher with HIIT.
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A close friend of mine is one most sought after trainers in the city, what he does with clients is as follows:
3 minutes at 3.5 mph, 0 elevation
1 minute at 3.5 mph, maximum elevation
Repeat in the same cycle. Your flat speed can be faster, but the elevation speed is not as critical as you'll be working it. This ratio is also done between a few sets instead of sitting around between body parts. It's important to keep a minimum intensity level for the entirety of your workout with peaks (like weight lifting sets and maximum elevation stints on treadmill) and steady state (flat 3.5 mph).
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