Super size me - Swedish style

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**Super size me - Swedish style!

At the University of Linkoping in Sweden, a group of fit, healthy

young men have undertaken to eat an unhealthy fast food diet, for the

sake of science. The leader of the experiment, Professor Fredrik

Nystrom, wanted to see if he could reproduce, under scientific

conditions, the adverse effects on the body described by the American

journalist Spurlock in his 2004 documentary " Super Size Me " .

The Swedes are expected to consume 6,000 calories each day and are

discouraged from cycling or walking even the shortest distance for a

month. According to a resumé of the work in the Guardian (07/09/06),

the first group of subjects completed their eating task in June and a

second group are now stuffing themselves with Big Macs, with final

result expected early in 2007. The students gained 5 - 15% in weight

and reported feeling tired and bloated. Generally, however, even

though they were not fitness experts, the young men found the lack of

exercise more frustrating than having to eat so much junk food. Liver

lipid profiles deteriorated up to the third week, after which time

blood cholesterol levels improved. None of the dangerous changes in

the liver reported by Spurlock, occurred in the Swedish students.

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Carruthers

Wakefield, UK