Overeating Has This One Effect Potentially More Damaging Than Weight Gain

It's pretty much common sense that overeating is bad for you, but based on new research, there could be worse consequences than potentially packing on the pounds.

Unfortunately, even if you put in hard work to fight weight gain, you could be doing a number on your body by taking extra bites you don't need. We've all done it, but here's how it could screw up your health.

A new study by the Thomas Jefferson University pointed out the way in which the gut communicates with the brain might affect someone's ability to keep up healthy eating habits.

The researchers paid close attention to an important hormone called uroguanylin, which tells your brain your stomach is full enough to stop eating.

During testing on non-obese mice, the hormone functioned properly, and it caused the feeling of fullness to occur. However, this wasn't the case in obese mice.

Looking closer, the researchers noticed the small intestines of the obese mice weren't producing the hormone, even though the receptors in the brain for uroguanylin weren't damaged. When put on a diet, however, the hormone became present once again.

So basically, overeating can stop production of uroguanylin, meaning if you make a habit of going for seconds and thirds, your body won't tell you when it's full.

And the researchers found that no matter what size you are, if you consume too many calories, the production of uroguanylin will cease. Obese or not, overeating can mess with that important hormone.

Yeah, you might want to consider this risk before going for that third slice of pizza, even though you're not hungry. I personally don't believe in counting calories, but I guess this could be another reason to watch calorie intake closely if you're worried your body won't tell you to stop eating.

Your body knows when it's full.

It's just a matter of tuning in and asking yourself, "Am I eating because I'm bored, sad, happy or stressed right now? Or am I actually hungry?"

Citations: The New Scary Reason Overeating Is REALLY Bad for You (Brit+Co)