Sugar makes you fat because it increases hunger and calories

It makes foods more palatable, thus increasing their consumption. And it provides about 4 calories per gram.

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sugar makes you fat
There's no doubt about it: sugar makes you fat. This is for two main reasons: it makes foods more palatable, thus increasing consumption; and it provides a whopping 4 calories per gram of product. Lo sugar, especially in excessive doses, is harmful: this is now an axiom that no longer needs to be proven. So much so that in any diet a moderate use of sugar is always recommended, remembering that it can also lead to excess weight andobesity even at extreme speed.
But why is sugar associated with weight gain? What's the mechanism behind it? The more sugar we consume, the rounder our belly gets.

Science now clearly explains that the more sugar you eat, the more insulin you produce . And it's insulin that then ensures sugar reaches the cells, but at the same time, it reduces the burning of body fat and, by suddenly dropping, causes a new hunger pang. From here, in this sort of vicious cycle, more desire to eat, more food ingested, and more weight.

The latest insight into this mechanism of the relationship between sugar and obesity comes from important research published in Science Advances , conducted by studying the behavior of fruit flies, which are driven to eat increasingly more sugary foods than necessary. What if the same thing happened to humans?

With this question in mind, researchers were able to establish that sugar activates a protein complex (prc2.1) in the neurons responsible for taste perception, which even modifies the activity of DNA . In practice, the more sugar you eat, the less you perceive the sweet taste of a food , and consequently, in a form of increasing addiction, you consume greater doses.

Since the protein complex prc2.1, studied in flies, is also present in humans, its function could explain why a sugar-rich diet easily leads to obesity. And why even those who choose a healthy diet and are well aware of the harms sugar causes ultimately struggle to reduce their intake. But there are also other reasons why sugar causes weight gain, even quite rapidly.

The calories

First, there's the effect of so-called "empty calories." Sugar certainly provides physical energy , but it's not a nutritional food. As we've seen, if anything, it encourages you to eat more. Its calories are "empty" of nutrients. With a normal sugar intake , we provide our body with 340 calories a day, 2.380 a week, and 10.200 a month. If we fail to burn these calories, for example through regular physical activity (at least 30 minutes a day), we risk gaining up to a kilo a month.

The glycemic effect

When we eat sugar:
  • blood sugar rises quickly
  • the body releases insulin
  • insulin promotes the use of sugar for energy but also the accumulation in the form of fat if the energy is not needed immediately.
  • a portion is stored as glycogen
  • the surplus is converted into body fat.

The fermentation

Sugar "ferments" inside the body. This causes the stomach to swell, we feel tired, we minimize physical activity (which leads to weight gain), and we feel very heavy. Even without having eaten too much.

Where the sugar is hidden

The problem is not sugar itself, but:

  • sugary drinks
  • industrial sweets
  • “hidden” sugars in packaged foods

These easily lead to a daily caloric excess.

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