London, Aug 25 (IANS) A month of binge eating can keep fitness at bay – for years.
Wolfing on junk food alters body size and the way it stores fat – even after the initial weight is lost, says a new study.
The gluttony changes fat mass, the percentage of fat in the body, for more than two years, making it still harder to keep weight off, reports the Telegraph.
Researchers from the Linkoping University, Sweden, asked a group of people to stop exercising and eat excessively for four weeks, increasing energy intake by an average of 70 percent. A control group ate and exercised as normal.
The binge eating group gained an average of 6.35 kg in body weight, which was mostly lost six months later, according to the journal Nutrition and Metabolism.
However, one year on this group showed an increased fat mass compared to those who ate and exercised normally, the differences were even greater after two and a half years.
The study concluded that even a short period of excessive eating and a lack of exercise can potentially change an individual’s physiology, causing it to be harder to lose and keep off weight.
