In the name of science, six men stuffed their faces with what was, based on the typical American diet, a week’s worth of calories on a daily basis.
The goal of the small study, which was led by Dr. Guenther Boden from Temple University in Philadelphia, was to determine whether overeating could lead to diabetes.
In addition to being fed a daily high-carb diet consisting of 6,000 calories, the six male subjects participating in the study were placed on bed rest.
Through their study into human gluttony, the team of Temple University based researchers found high-calorie diets could lead to insulin resistance — a physiological condition in which cells fail to respond to insulin and the pancreas jumps into overdrive producing insulin in an attempt to make up the difference. Or in other words, laying around and stuffing your face with food could lead to Type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by high levels of blood-sugar caused by either a lack of insulin or the body’s inefficient use of insulin.
Less than three days into the study, the researchers noticed what they were searching for: the onset of insulin resistance in the men who had more than doubled their normal caloric intake.
Just two days into the week-long study, the research team identified 38 proteins which are produced in response to oxidative stress.
The men, who were confined to a hospital room throughout the study, gained nearly eight pounds during their short stint as gluttons.
The Seattle Times reports that the study’s findings, which were published on September 9 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggest that development of metabolic problems in the overweight might be prevented by antioxidant therapies.
According to Dr. Boden’s team, the study’s findings suggest that changes in the glucose transporter protein known as GLUT4, which was seemingly triggered by oxidative stress, lead to insulin resistance in the test subjects.
HealthDay quoted Dana Angelo White, a dietitian and professor of sports medicine at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, as having said that the study’s results “are valuable considering so many Americans tend to take in excessive amounts of calories on a daily basis” and that while the study was relatively small and short-lived, it “certainly” does a good job of reinforcing recommendations that folks mind their caloric intakes and increase the amount they exercise.
