5 Dangers of Overeating

Let’s be honest: we all have days when we feel extra-hungry, like we need a bit of extra food because we’ve exerted ourselves more than usual or our bodies are craving certain micro or macronutrients.

Eating a little bit extra now and again isn’t going to cause problems—on the contrary, it can actually give you a lovely energy boost to help you exercise, train, work, or enjoy life.

But frequent overeating, now that can be a significant problem!

People who overeat on a regular basis are prone to developing health problems like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, gut dysbiosis, and so much more.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what overeating is, how easy it is to overeat without realizing it, and what the dangers of overeating are.

But don’t worry: we’ll finish up with some simple, practical steps you can take to curb overeating starting TODAY.

Overeating Defined

The medical definition of overeating is “eating past the point of fullness” [1].

There’s a certain amount of hunger that is normal and expected on a daily basis. That hunger can be satiated with moderate portions of food consumed frequently throughout the day.

However, when you consistently eat large portions of food, to the point that you’re not only no longer hungry but actually full, that is when you veer into the realm of overeating.

Eating too quickly, too frequently, or consuming foods that are excessively high in calories will all make it more likely that you’ll overeat in a day.

The Five Greatest Dangers of Overeating

We know that there are some common side effects of overeating:

• You feel excessively full, because your stomach is filled beyond its normal capacity.

• Your clothes may feel tight or constricting because they’re pressing on your over-filled stomach.

• Your stomach hurts or you experience discomfort.

• You may start to sweat (for example, meat sweats when you consume too much meat) or your body temperature rises.

These are the signs most of us associate with overeating. However, these are just the immediate effects. They’re only short-term and last until you’ve digested and eliminated the food.

The real problems set in when you frequently and consistently overeat. Even just a few days of overeating can have some negative consequences. When it starts adding up to weeks, months, or even years of overeating, that’s when the real problems set in.

What problems, you ask? Here are the five greatest dangers you’re risking:

1. Triggering Body-Wide Inflammation. We’ve all known this one for years: eating too much encourages your body to store fat, and long-term excessive fat storage leads to weight gain. But not just weight gain—the fat your body stores can start to interfere with other organ functions (as you’ll see below) and contribute to higher rates of disease.

As you accumulate body fat, you increase the level of inflammation in your body. Research [1] makes it clear that fat cells are “the major source of obesity/inactivity-related inflammation” in our bodies. This body-wide inflammation triggered by the fat cells can not only trigger metabolic dysfunction and lead to insulin resistance, but it can also slow down immune function. The long-term effects of this inflammation can be dangerous for your health and contribute to a wide range of chronic diseases and disorders.

2. Diabetes. Excessive weight gain (caused by overeating) has been linked to diabetes [2] for a couple of reasons.

First, when you eat too much, you consume more carbohydrates and fats than your body can process all at once. This leads to a spike in your blood sugar levels, which triggers the release of insulin from your pancreas to mitigate. However, the insulin will likely lower your blood sugar levels excessively, triggering the release of more blood sugar to compensate. Over time, these frequent spikes and subsequent crashes will cause your body to develop more resistance to insulin, which can lead to diabetes.

Second, weight gain caused by overeating can also cause “metabolic abnormalities”, including poor blood sugar control, slower digestion, reduced metabolic rate, and more. Your body won’t be able to function as efficiently because all that excess fat is gumming up the works, so you’re more prone to metabolic disorders like diabetes.

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3. Cardiovascular Disease. Frequent overeating can increase the amount of lipids that are present in your bloodstream. Fats from the food you eat (especially fatty, fried foods) are harder for your body to eliminate, so they end up being stored around your belly (leading to weight gain) but also in your bloodstream “just in case” your body needs energy.

High levels of blood lipids can lead to high cholesterol, which in turn leads to plaques forming on the arteries, arterial stiffness and narrowing, and potentially higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. The presence of fat in your arteries can also reduce blood circulation and raise your blood pressure.

A significant number of cardiovascular conditions are linked to weight gain [3], which can be the direct result of overeating.

4. Poor Gut Health. When you eat a lot of food all at once, it can put a strain on your digestive system. A massive influx of hard-to-digest foods—including artificial sugars and sweeteners, carbonated drinks, high-fiber foods, spicy and high-fat foods, and low-fiber carbohydrates—can trigger gas, bloating, indigestion and stomach upset because your digestive tract is trying to do too many things at once. Your digestive enzymes and gut bacteria can only break down and absorb food so quickly.

But that’s not all! Excessive overeating can also contribute to poor gut health. If your gut microbiome is constantly being bombarded with hard-to-digest foods (many of which are low in nutrients), it will adapt in order to more effectively break down and absorb those foods. You can actually change your gut microbiome for the worse [4] by frequently overeating. This change can lead to serious long-term gut dysbiosis and intestinal health problems.

5. Poor Brain Health. Your brain is very closely connected to your gut—it’s called the “gut-brain axis” [4]. When your gut flourishes and functions well, so does your brain. So inevitably, when your gut health suffers, so does your brain.

Overeating has been shown to cause fatigue and sluggishness in the short term—it’s why you feel so sleepy after a heavy meal. However, in the long term, you can actually cause the circuitry in your brain to malfunction. You create a higher likelihood of binge eating and overeating because you’ve trained your brain to crave more food.

It can also trigger mental decline and accelerate neurodegeneration as you age. Research [5] has linked obesity (caused by overeating) to higher rates of cognitive impairment, reduced cognition, and higher rates of memory problems [6].

Wrapping Up: Stop Overeating Today for a Healthier Tomorrow

As you’ve seen above, overeating can have some terrible consequences in both the short and long-term. Your body is made to break down, absorb, and eliminate a certain amount of food per day—give it more, and you risk your health.

Thankfully, there are a few simple ways you can curb overeating:

• Control your portions and count your calories to ensure you’re only getting as much as you need.

• Remove temptations by keeping junk food and high-sugar/high-fat food out of your house.

• Serve yourself smaller portions and eat on smaller plates.

• Most importantly, don’t use food as a reward or celebration, but find other activities you enjoy to fill that role.

If you can avoid overeating and keep your food intake to a safe level, you will reduce your risk of a significant number of long-term health problems and guarantee a better chance at a healthy, happy life.

Resources:

[1] my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24680-overeating

[2] www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/binge-eating-disorder/

[3] www.nature.com/articles/s41430-020-0610-y

[4] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11123470/

[5] www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969996119302487

[6] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19930267/

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