Although she is a surgeon, Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding’s commitment to patients lasts far beyond the surgery date. She is constantly keeping up with the latest research in lifestyle changes and obesity, to guide patients in finding long term success. A recent article talks about something some patients face – eating well all week and then binge-eating junk food over the weekend. Before having bariatric surgery, quite a few patients tell us they struggle with this. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding says new research shows this behavior is just as bad for your gut health as eating a junk food diet all the time. This is from a new study published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. The new study compared the abundance of microbiota in three groups of rats over a 16 week period. Disruption to the gut microbiota has been linked with gastrointestinal conditions such as obesity and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS).

In the experiment, one group of rats was fed a healthy diet; A second group had only human junk food, including high-fat, high-sugar and processed foods; And a third group was given a healthy diet for four days of the week, and junk food for three days.

The researchers examined body weight, fat mass, insulin and leptin levels. They found that at the end of the 16 weeks, rats in the third group were 18% heavier than those on the healthy diet, while leptin and insulin levels in the third group were in between rats fed only junk food or only health food. The microbiota of the third group was almost indistinguishable from rats fed a constant diet of junk, with both groups’ microbiota significantly different from those in the rats fed a healthy diet. The junk food diet also reduced the microbial species which have been suggested to not only assist in weight loss, but also employ neuro-protective functions within the brain.

The study authors concluded that while these findings are yet to be replicated in humans, those who are strict with their diet during the week may be undoing all their good work by hitting the junk food over the weekend.” Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding says this suggests that eating junk food, even if limited to the weekends, has significant negative impacts on the body.