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06.12.2017

Daily half hour of interval training cancels out the negative health effects of the worst imaginable diet

In 2004 filmmaker Morgan Spurlock showed in his documentary Supersize Me [Wikipedia] what happens to your body if you eat nothing but McDonald's products for a whole month. He gained 13 kg and his cardiovascular health, his liver function and insulin balance deteriorated. All of these disastrous effects would probably not have happened if Spurlock had trained intensively every day that the experiment lasted.

Study
Canadian sports scientists at the University of Quebec in Montreal got 15 healthy men aged 18-30 to eat nothing but junk food for two weeks.

The participants "had to consume an extra value meal of their choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All meals for lunch and dinner consisted of a sandwich (e.g., Big Mac, McChicken, or Quarter Pounder with Cheese), medium fries and a non-diet medium soft drink. As for breakfast, it consisted of a sandwich (e.g., Egg McMuffin, or Sausage McMuffin), hash browns and a small fruit drink or coffee. In addition, participants had the option to consume a muffin of their choice as a snack depending on their appetite."

Ugh.

The table below gives you an idea of the quality of their diet.

In addition, the men did a half-hour interval training session on a treadmill every day. This consisted of 15 sprints lasting 1 minute each, where the men ran at 90 percent of their VO2max. Between the sprints the men walked for a minute to recover.

The researchers examined the participants before the 14-week experiment started and at the end.

Results
Thanks to the interval training the junk food diet had no negative effects on the health of the participants. Nearly all the variables that were measured remained the same.

Most noticeable was the decrease in the HDL level, although the amount of the decrease was not alarming, and this was offset by a decrease in the fasting glucose level.

Conclusion
"In summary, high intensity interval training seems to protect, in large part, the cardiometabolic profile against the potential negative effects of a fast food diet in young healthy men," the Canadians wrote. "Therefore, these findings contradict the popular belief of the general population."

"Indeed, our results may be useful for clinical and practical purposes. It is important to educate health care professionals and athletes/coaches regarding the potential protective effects of high intensity interval training against a fast food diet."

"Nevertheless, these findings should be considered preliminary, but they may stimulate interest for additional research on the impact of a fast food diet in combination with high intensity interval training on metabolic diseases in different populations."

Sponsor
The study was funded by the University of Montreal.

Source:
Nutrients. 2017 Aug 26;9(9).

More:
Junk food less fattening with vitamin C 16.10.2008
Junk food ruins your liver unnoticed 03.10.2008

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Interval Training
Junk Food

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