Research shows just 7 days of overeating and inactivity causes insulin resistance

Obesity is now so bad in America that doctors have coined a term, metabolic syndrome, to cover the laundry list of symptoms associated with the extra fat. Among these are type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. While these might seem like obvious additions to the list, the reason has not been clear until now.

In a study performed at Temple University in Philadelphia, scientists began their journey to find the reason behind the link of these two health issues and obesity. To begin, they brought together six men, each either a healthy weight or weighing only a bit more. All were healthy with no current medication or familial history of diabetes.

To get the study underway, all six of the men were confined to a hospital where they were locked in a room to minimize physical activity and overfed. Each man was given a total of 6,000 calories per day, over double their normal daily intake. These meals were then further broken down into the US diet standard of 50% carbs, 35% fat and 15% protein. Blood samples were taken daily.

Unsurprisingly, each of the men put on about 3.5 kg of extra fat by the end. Surprisingly, the researchers managed to find the connection they were looking for. After only one day of increased eating and decreased activity levels, insulin resistance showed itself alongside oxidative stress. As it turns out, this stress damaged a blood-sugar-regulating protein, GLUT4, resulting in the insulin resistance that ultimately leads to type 2 diabetes.

By Mike Bundrant of the iNLP Center.

Source:

LaboratoryEquipment.com