Only another 5,500 calories to go … looks at the results of a recent Swedish study that replicated Spurlock’s Supersize Me experiment — without Spurlock’s dangerous results:
And this is the most fascinating thing: if Nyström’s small group are representative, then it would seem that our bodies are more adaptable than we give them credit for. In other words, metabolism may play a much more important role in the problem of obesity than many people think. Indeed, Nyström claims that for some people, eating 10% more will lead to their metabolism increasing at the same level. The extra energy will be burned off as body heat during sleep. “If that was not the case we would all have to keep track of every last calorie,” he says. “And you have to realise that some overeaters consume such grotesque amounts that they would be even heavier — much heavier! — were it not for this safety mechanism.”That’s why these kind of studies have to be carried out, he says: “If you only look at the already overweight, you’ll only do research on those with least resistance to calories, so to speak.”