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Overeating can lead to weight gain and impaired blood sugar control and glucose levels. This in turn can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. A new study suggests that chronic overeating effects blood sugar and glucose, but that short-term overeating may not.
Eight healthy, lean men with an average age of 22 participated in the study. They underwent a short-term overeating trial that lasted for five days, then continued overeating for 23 more days to model long-term, chronic overeating. The participants ate their regular diets, plus another 1,000 calories that came mostly from high calorie snacks such as chocolate, meal replacement drinks, and potato chips. They filled out 3-day diet diaries three times during the study.
The researchers measured the participants’ weight, fat mass, blood sugar, and insulin levels at baseline, five days, and 28 days.
Postprandical glucose and insulin responses did not change after 5 days, but had a modest increase after 28 days. Fasting levels of blood sugar, and C-peptide did not change after 5 days.
In addition, the amount of visceral fat present increased signifiocantly after 5 days, with no further change seen after 28 days. However, body mass and fat mass significantly increased only after 28 days.
The study was conducted by researchers from Deakin University, Australia. It was published on April 9, 2019 in the American Journal of Physiology — Endocrinology and Metabolism.