Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are making an unusual offer: They are paying people to add fat to their own bodies by eating an extra 1,000-calorie fast food meal each day for three months.
Dr. Samuel Klein, the lead researcher in the study, wanted to do some basic research on why only some people who gain weight develop diabetes and hypertension, while others do not. It's something he said he couldn't research by feeding food pellets to lab animals.
"What you learn in rodents does not always translate to people," Klein said. "What you learn on flies and worms won't translate to people."
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Fast food turns out to be a perfect food pellet replacement because it is good for measuring exactly what people are eating. The five restaurants chosen for the study were McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC.
"[Fast food restaurants] have very regulated food content," said Klein, the lead researcher of the study. "We know exactly the calories and macro-nutrient composition within fast food restaurants, so it's a very inexpensive, easy and tasteful way to give people extra calories."
There was also a cash incentive. Participants could earn up to $3,500, depending on how long it took them to reach the weight goal. They had to gain 5 percent to 6 percent of their body weight during the three-month span and then they could work to shed the pounds again. Researchers monitored their weight from week to week.
When the hospital put out an ad seeking participants, several people came forward.
Dawn Freeman, a 50-year-old nurse who has now finished the program, started out weighing 170 pounds. She said she gained 16 pounds over the course of eight weeks.
She was compensated a total of $2,650 for her effort, including $50 to lose all the weight again, which she did with diet and walking exercise to help her get down to 162.8 pounds. The hospital guides participants through the weight loss.
Originally posted here:
Fast Food Diet Participants Paid to Gain Weight
