Eating When You're Not Hungry is Unhealthy

Dieters are often advised to not skip breakfast, keep regular meals times and avoid excessive hunger by fueling the metabolism often.

Yet new research published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research found that the tendency to eat when you're not hungry can actually be detrimental to your health.

Given the fact that people in modern society are constantly bombarded with opportunities to eat, the findings suggest it's healthier to engage in intuitive eating - and listen to your body for natural hunger cues.

Blood sugar spikes

The study included 45 undergraduate students who were asked to rate their level of hunger and then consume a meal that was high in carbohydrates.

"Whenever people eat carbohydrates, the sugar levels in their blood increase," said Dr. David Gal, professor of marketing at the University of Illinois in Chicago. "If they increase too much, that can be bad for people's health."

After the meals, participants had their blood glucose levels measured at regular intervals.

Researchers found that individuals who were moderately hungry before a meal had lower blood sugar levels after the meal than individuals who weren't hungry.

The main takeaway, researchers said, is that constant snacking may actually be worse for health than previously thought.

"Skip dinner if you're not hungry," the authors wrote. "Eating when not hungry causes your blood sugar to spike."

Source: Cornell Food and Brand Lab