Obesity Reviews 2006; 7: 219
E. O. Díaz, J. E. Galgani and C. A. Aguirre
Who can fail to be aware of the glycaemic index (GI index)? There has been so much talk and so many column inches written about the horrors of high GI foods and yet this study failed to find any evidence to support the assertion that high GI foods lead to weight gain.
High glycamic index (GI) foods are commonly thought to influence fat stores. The purpose of this review was to examine the role of glycaemic index on body composition with emphasis on fat breakdown/storage in humans. This relationship is based on the hypothesis that a higher blood sugar and insulin response induced by high-glycaemic carbohydrates promotes higher fat storage in comparison with low-glycaemic carbohydrates. Thus, high-glycaemic index meals could contribute to the maintenance of excess weight in obese individuals and/or predispose obesity-prone subjects to weight gain.
The authors looked at several studies comparing the effects of meals with contrasting glycaemic carbohydrates for hours, days or weeks and report that most have failed to demonstrate any differential effect on fat stores when body composition measurements were performed. Apparently, the glycaemic index-induced serum insulin differences are not sufficient in magnitude and/or duration to cause weight gain.
