Research suggests that our bodies cope “remarkably well” when we indulge in fatty goodies.
While an all-you-can-eat buffet leaves most of the feeling of sluggishness, scientists at the University of Bath found that “attacking” every now and then doesn’t cause any immediate health problems.
Fourteen men were told to help each other eat pizza until they felt comfortably full or “couldn’t eat another bite.”
While overconsumption caused men to consume almost twice as many calories, their blood sugar and fat levels remained surprisingly stable.
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“We all know the long-term risks of excessive food indulgence when it comes to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Aaron Hengist, a doctoral student.
“Our findings show that the body really copes remarkably well when faced with sudden, massive excess calories.
“Healthy humans can eat twice as much as they are ‘full’ and effectively deal with this huge surplus of initial energy.”
This comes as the government works to combat obesity in England, including a ban on “buy one get one free” on unhealthy foods and adding calorie counts to menus.
Scientists were surprised that similar research had not been done before, given how common overeating is.
“We know that people often eat beyond their needs, which is why many of us struggle to control our body weight,” said study author Professor James Betts.
“Therefore, it is surprising that no previous research has measured the maximum ability to eat in a single meal to understand how the human body responds to that challenge.”
For more information, a group of healthy men between the ages of 22 and 37 participated in two experiments.
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In the first, they were told to eat pizza until they felt comfortably full, while in the second test they were required to “eat until they couldn’t handle another bite.”
The second experiment saw them consume an average of 3,113 calories, more than the generally recommended 2,000kcal to 3,000kcal per day for a man.
Even in the first experiment, they consumed an excess of 1,584kcal in a single session.
“Healthy men have the ability to eat twice the energy content required to achieve comfortable fullness in a single meal,” the scientists wrote in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The results revealed that blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin was 50% higher when men ate until they could no longer consume more. However, glucose levels were the same between the two experiments.
High glucose levels can damage the blood vessels that feed vital organs, leading to heart disease or stroke.
Scientists were surprised to discover that blood fat levels were only marginally higher when men exceeded them.
“The people evaluated in this study were able to efficiently use or store the nutrients they ingested during the pizza-eating challenge, so blood sugar and fat levels weren’t much higher than when they ate half the food,” Professor Betts said
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The only “stark difference” was mood, with the men feeling significantly more lethargic four hours after they indulged themselves too much.
While the results suggest that treating yourself occasionally is unlikely to cause lasting damage, the scientists emphasized that moderation is key.
“The main problem with overeating is that it adds more stored energy to our bodies (in the form of fat), which can culminate in obesity if you overeat day after day,” said Professor Betts.
“However, this study shows that if a healthy person usually overdoes it from time to time, for example eating a large buffet meal or a Christmas lunch, then there are no immediate negative consequences in terms of losing metabolic control.” .
Scientists plan to investigate whether the same applies to women, the elderly, and overweight people.
