When a Few Becomes More

At least at one point in your life you may have heard your mother, aunt, grandma, etc. utter the phrase, "A moment on the lips means forever on the hips." This phrase usually came out just as you lifted a bite of decadent cake coated in luscious frosting to your mouth. In that instance you either a.) disregarded said comment, looked them dead in the eye, and defiantly ate that cake (and proceeded to nap) or b.) let that phrase ring in your ears and thought to yourself that a post-cake consumption walk may be in order.



This image was taken from chocolatecakerecipes.net

I almost cringe to say this, but they were right. A recent study from Swedish researchers is the first of its kind to have people intentionally binge eat and gain weight to see the effects of weight gain.

The study took the weight and measurements of 18 young volunteers. All of the volunteers were slim, active, healthy people. Researchers then told the group to eat at least two junk food meals a day and limited their activity to 5,000 steps a day, which is the definition of a sedentary lifestyle. The second group was told to continue living their life how they have been up to that point. Both groups were followed for one month.

So how did these groups fair? The junk food junkies gained on average 14 pounds in that one month. One month! But six months later, they had lost most of that weight. A year later though, their body weight was three pounds heavier. Not bad, but two and half years later their weight was almost seven pounds heavier and the other group was no heavier than when they started the study. It should be noted that the fat free mass of participants did not change during this time but rather the fat mass.

Many people shrug off seven pounds in a what's-the-big-deal fashion. Heck, some people feel they don't really have cause for concern unless they find they own more jeans with elastic waist bands. Seven is not that far from 10 pounds. Ten is the magic number here. Studies have shown that people who gain at least 10 pounds since the age of 18 (with a normal BMI) have a higher risk of having a chronic disease. Chronic diseases include Cardiovascular disease, High Blood Pressure, and Type II Diabetes.

This study may help explain the physiological changes that occur when people gain weight that make it hard to lose weight. It also suggests that short-term food binges (in addition to a sedentary lifestyle) may have long-term effects on health.

Next time someone utters that phrase to you, resist the urge to retort with "I see you learned the hard way." Instead, offer them half and go to the gym. Your hips will thank you later.

Editor's Note: I would like thank Mr. NN for tipping me off about this study. :)