Scientists could get a lot of help if they get to know how, why and when chronic overeating leads to metabolic problems and to Type 2 diabetes. They could be able to break the link between obesity and diabetes, which is a huge challenge as over a third of American adults are obese, and thus at higher risk.

Six brave men endured 7 days of Caligula-class consumption and gained nearly eight pounds, for the sake of science. They consumed 6,000 calories per day while confined to a room in a Philadelphia hospital ward.

However, in just a period of less than 3 days investigators were able to spot what they were looking for, and its possible cause. Between days two and three, researchers detected the onset of insulin resistance in the men, doubling their normal caloric intake.

They found that the cause of the men’s insulin resistance was definitely the sudden onset of gluttony. To be more specific, the efforts of their bodies to manage the onslaught of fuel were found to set free a flood of oxygen byproducts, toxic to nearby cells.

As per the new research, the collateral harm from all this oxidative stress included the GLUT4 transport channel, an army of proteins that responds to insulin by rounding up glucose that circulates in the blood and transports it to muscle and organs. During 2 days in the weeklong gorging, researchers discovered 38 proteins, produced in response to oxidative stress in daily samples of the men’s fat and urine.