New results from PREDICT, the largest ongoing nutritional research program in the world that looks at responses to food in real-life settings, show that people who experience big dips in blood sugar levels, several hours after eating, end up feeling hungrier and consuming hundreds of more calories during the day than others.

Published last month in Nature Metabolism, the research team at health science company ZOE found why some people struggle to lose weight, even on calorie-controlled diets, and highlight the importance of understanding personal metabolism when it comes to diet and health.

The research team collected detailed data about blood sugar responses and other markers of health from 1,070 people after eating standardized breakfasts and freely chosen meals over a two-week period, adding up to more than 8,000 breakfasts and 70,000 meals in total. The standard breakfasts were based on muffins containing the same amount of calories but varying in composition in terms of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fibre. Participants also carried out a fasting blood sugar response test (oral glucose tolerance test), to measure how well their body processes sugar.

Tim Spector joins us today to tell us more about this study and its use of twins to explore eating habits. He is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and a scientific co-founder of ZOE.

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Bonus
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