How Does 4 Weeks of Increased Fast Food Intake Affect Metabolism?

Objective: To study the effect of fast food-based hyper-alimentation on liver enzymes and hepatic triglyceride content (HTGC)and metabolism.

Design: Prospective interventional study with parallel control group. Setting University Hospital of Linköping, Sweden. Participants: 12 healthy men and six healthy women with a mean (SD) age of 26 (6.6) years and a matched control group.

Intervention: Subjects in the intervention group aimed for a body weight increase of 5-15% by eating at least two fast food-based meals a day with the goal to double the regular caloric intake in combination with adoption of a sedentary lifestyle for four weeks.

Main outcome measures: Weekly changes of serum aminotransferases and HTGC measured by proton nuclear magnetic resonance-spectroscopy at baseline and after the intervention.