What Happened After the Most Dangerous Study of All Time
It tells us why fad diets can have lasting effects
A few weeks ago I wrote about one of the most dangerous studies of all time and how it can tell us everything we need to know about weight loss.
In that study, which occurred at the height of World War II, 36 men entered a lab to starve. The scientists wanted to understand the effects of starvation so they could help starving people in war-torn Europe.
Many readers asked me what happened to the men after the study. It’s a great question.
The scientists began refeeding the men to return them to a healthy weight. What happened next and in the years after reveal the consequential long-term effects that weight loss can have on our bodies and minds.
This is what happens once we’ve lost weight — and even after we’ve regained it:
We’re more likely to binge eat
Before the experiment, the men said they rarely overate and never binge ate. This all changed during the refeeding. The men consumed an average of 11,000 calories on the days they were allowed to eat anything they wanted. That’s equal to 20 Big Macs.
