Research paper
Ludwig DS, Majzoub JA, Al-Zahrani A, Dallal GE, Blanco I, Roberts SB. High glycemic index foods, overeating, and obesity. Pediatrics. 1999 Mar;103(3):E26. doi:10.1542/peds.103.3.e26
Why we cite it
A controlled crossover study, in 12 obese teenage boys, of glycaemic index and same-day food intake. After a high-GI meal, ad libitum intake over the next five hours was 53% greater than after a medium-GI meal and 81% greater than after a low-GI meal. Compared with the low-GI meal, the high-GI meal brought higher insulin, lower glucagon, lower postabsorptive glucose and fatty acids, and higher epinephrine. The authors conclude these changes ”promote excessive food intake in obese subjects”, and that ”Additional studies are needed to examine the relationship between dietary GI and long-term body weight regulation.” (Corrected 2026-09-19 from ”One of the first controlled studies to demonstrate”, an unsourced priority claim, and ”dramatically increased food consumption — providing a mechanistic pathway from high-GI diets to obesity”, which dropped the authors’ long-term caveat.)