Lose Weight and Decrease Stress by…Ignoring Journalists?
I apologize for the lack of updates lately, I’ve been hard at work on a new project…However, something appeared in my in-box today that I had to share with you…
It was an article from the NYTimes about “The Risks and Rewards of Skipping Meals”
In this article, the author attempted to review some of the research being published back in 2007…Specifically a study published in Metabolism, which “looked at what happens when people skip meals but end up eating just as much as they would in a normal day when they finally do sit down to a meal.”
The study, conducted by diabetes researchers at the National Institute on Aging, involved healthy, normal-weight men and women in their 40s. For two months, the study subjects ate three meals a day. For another eight-week period, they skipped two meals but ate the same number of calories in one evening meal, consumed between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Here is the Journalists main ‘finding’ from the study…
The researchers found that skipping meals during the day and eating one large meal in the evening resulted in potentially risky metabolic changes. The meal skippers had elevated fasting glucose levels and a delayed insulin response — conditions that, if they persisted long term, could lead to diabetes.
Which to me sounds down right scary.
Of course when read a second time, we notice some very interesting words thrown into the mix…
- “Potentially risky”,
- “If they persisted long term”
- “Could Lead”
…Basically words that ’soften’ the statements while still allowing for a lot of WOW factor…In other words the Journalist did not say that “skipping meals could lead to diabetes”…it’s just the way we read it.
It’s the same technique used in some supplement marketing… As an example
New Maximum strength MUSCLE-POWDER has the super powerful ability to potentially boost your anabolic drive, and if this persists for long term it could lead to SUPER AMAZING gains in SHREDDED MASS!!!!!!
You get the drift…
Anyways… since this is an older study, it just happened to be one of the ones I reviewed for Eat Stop Eat…so here is a list of some of the actual researchers comments about the findings…
*when on 1 meal/d, subjects exhibited: a significant reduction of fat mass,
*There were no significant effects of meal frequency on HOMA-IR, ISI or MCR (techniques to assess insulin sensitivity and resistance)
*Fasting plasma insulin concentrations were not significantly affected by meal frequency
*and there were no significant effects of diet on insulin responses to glucose during the OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test)
*The fasting plasma ghrelin concentration was similar in subjects when on 1 meal/d or 3 meals/d
*Diet had no significant effects on morning plasma concentrations of glucagon, leptin, adiponectin, resistin and BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).
*The OGTTs were performed in the morning. Therefore, when on the 1 meal/d diet the subjects had consumed a much greater amount of food in proximity to the OGTT compared to subjects on 3 meals/d, which could have influenced morning insulin sensitivity.
*In other words, The difference in fasting glucose levels could be explained, in part, by continuing absorption of the greater amount of food consumed in the evening in the subjects on the 1 meal/d diet.
Bottom line – Journalists need controversial stories and good hooks…it’s what gets us to read their articles, HOWEVER sometimes it’s best if when there is no story, simply report that there is no story. Especially when reporting on the results of one study.
What really irked me was the final statement by the journalist ==>
“However, skipping meals during the day and then overeating at the evening meal results in harmful metabolic changes in the body.”
Just another reason to hit the ‘unsubscribe’ button and limit the amount of “Health Infotainment” (as opposed to “Health Information”) that you are bombarded with on a daily basis.
BP
PS- Thanks to Richard for sending the article.
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I’m not surprised at the sensationalism. The popular press has become a source of entertainment, homing in on that of the tabloids. Thanks for the post and clarification, Brad. It’s a battle, but one worth fighting.
What a great example of how you can’t trust most result reports of health studies! I’ve had great success with a 1 meal a day plan, as well as Eat Stop Eat, for a long time.
Disturbing how many lies are spread with this kind of biased reporting, though. No wonder the truth about nutrition and diet and health is hard to find!
I EAT SMALL FREQUENT MEALS FOR YEARS AND BECOME FAT( 105 KG) AND WITH HIGH BLOOD PREASSURE. AFTER 2 MONTHS ON ESE I LOOSE 14 KG AND HYPERTENSION IS THE PAST FOR ME. THANKS BRAD
( SOORY FOR BAD ENGLISH)
This reminds me of the recent – and ridiculous – TIME article about how exercise was useless to those trying to lose weight.
I wonder how many people with Diabetes (type I? type II? Does the article say?) were going around “skipping meals” before they were diagnosed? Somehow, I doubt you’ll find very many. The 3 square meals + snacks mentality is so ingrained into most people’s behavior that it has been the biggest challenge to my IF schedule – far more challenging than the actual hunger, in fact. On a fasting day I must dodge multiple invitations to go out for lunch, meet up for coffee, “try some of these cookies,” etc. I always say no, but I’m well aware that some people think I am odd for doing so.
Hi Brad, I have been reading a little bit lately about “brown fat” and how it burns “white” fat. Of course I have only been reading articles that give the writer’s take on studies, which you have just shown is not exactly the most reliable source. I was wondering what your take on this “brown fat” is. Also, is there any info out there on fasting and brown fat? Thanks!
P.S. Love ESE! I have lost between twenty and thirty pounds since Jan ‘09 using your system! Thanks so much!
The sad thing about this is that people read this article. So there are many people out there with this information who took it as fact and are now probably doing more harm to themselves than they were before. Yeah, journalists can mess you up bad.
OMG Thankyou Brad! It’s crap like this that got me fat in the first place.
@El
Hey El,
I’m having to dodge the “Try some of this chocolate/lollies/junk” alot too…When fasting, I tend to notice that others around me at work are eating more or less continuously, and unconsciously.
Thanks for taking the time to actually look up and read the references and use science Brad! Hell yah.
Media is designed to sell, first beyond much else.
Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
http://www.ExtremeHumanPerformance.com
Brad,
Through a totally UNDISCIPLINED approach to ESE I am down below 200lbs when I never thought I ever would be again(did not really care either). I started ESE for other benefits you stated; specifically increased HGH levels. Science has been telling us HGH keeps us young and healthy and people have been pumping animal HGH in themselves to stay young. I figured: Why not just skip breakfast and lunch one day a week and get the benefit without the possible danger of foreign chemicals? I was around 210lbs in February and am down to around 198lbs. Oh, I am 6′1″ and an athletic build(played hoops and VB most of my life)
Excellent post Brad! Amazing how journalists and marketers can ’shade’ test/study results by omission of certain details, isn’t it?
Hey Ray,
I wonder if it really is there fault, or how much editing happens along the process…I’m going to ask some friends what the process is actually like.
B
well…I can’t fast worth a hoot – and the small meals and snacks thing worked really well for me to lose 60 lbs and keep it off, but GUESS WHAT – that doesn’t make it the best way for everyone. Even breakfast skipping leads to increased overall intake for only about 70-80% of people if I have read correctly. Thanks for balance and honesty in your reporting instead of hype and insisting its your way or the highway like most of the other sites do.
Hey Brad that studied you used the exerts from that wad the same study the other author mentioned about consuming same calories but just in one meal? Cause one of your exerts said the participants lost bf, while eating same amount of calories just all at once instead of 3 meals a day. Am I reading that right? Thanks
Hi Jarod
The authors noted that the people eating one meal a day ended up eating less, even though they were tightly controlled. This largely explains the weight loss.
B
Thats very good to know… thanks
good going
Can you provide some data that shows that eating a large meal (rather than a small meal) for dinner would affect fasting glucose levels more than 12 hours later? (The article says the subjects ate their large dinner meal between 4pm and 8pm, and I’m assuming the subjects got their blood tested between 6 and 9am) You hypothesis seems reasonable, but on the other hand 12 hours seems like plenty of time to digest even a large meal. Can you give any information about how long a 1400-2200 calorie meal would affect insulin levels? I assume that this is known?
The quote was from Mattson, so I’d have to see what he was referencing. As a quick thought I’d think it would be hard to find a solid reference as each person would be different with regards to how well they handle sugar, but in general there should be some sort of guideline…I’ll see what I can find.