Want to enjoy sausages, bacon and butter without piling on pounds? Study reveals the simple hack to make the body burn saturated fats as fuel

Most of us enjoy a bacon butty, sausage sandwich or take-away curry every so often — even if we know they’re not the best thing if we’re watching our weight. 

Now, a study has revealed how to make the body use them as fuel rather than storing them as fat.

Researchers have discovered that consistently exercising for just five hours a week changes how the body burns saturated fats and kickstarts it into using it for energy.

A team from the University of Aberdeen investigated how different types of fat are used by the body, depending on the individual’s level of physical fitness.

They recruited two groups – ‘super healthy’ male athletes and males with type 2 diabetes who did little to no exercise. Both groups swapped exercise regimes for eight weeks.

The athletes underwent ‘deconditioning’ where they went from exercising vigorously for at least nine and a half hours per week to none.

Meanwhile, the people with type 2 diabetes underwent endurance training where they exercised for five hours a week.

Before and after the lifestyle swap, the volunteers received small amounts of different fats via an injection and had MRI scans to see how the fat behaved inside their muscle cells.

Results showed the group with type 2 diabetes lost weight, improved their insulin sensitivity and lowered their cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting glucose levels.

The team also found that in athletes, saturated fat was used intensely for physical activity as the ‘preferred source of energy.’

Lead author Professor Dana Dawson said: ‘We discovered that athletes store and utilise saturated fat intensely for high performance physical activity and conversely in people with type 2 diabetes, we observed predominantly storage.

‘We also showed in people with type 2 diabetes that endurance exercise training increased the storage and utilisation of saturated fat in their skeletal muscle cells to the extent that they became similar to the deconditioned athletes after eight weeks of training.

‘Overall, the most striking and completely new perspective we have taken from this study is that one size ‘doesn’t fit all’ and that one’s cardio-metabolic health dictates how efficiently you’re able to use different fats as fuel. ‘

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, which supported the research, said: ‘This small study reinforces the benefits of keeping active on our heart health.

‘While the study compared two very specific groups – male athletes and men with type 2 diabetes – the findings offer reassurance that being physically active can improve how the body uses different types of fat.’

Fergus McKiddie, 56, from Aberdeenshire took part in the trial in the athlete category.

Mr McKiddie, who works for NHS Grampian, is in peak fitness and leads an active lifestyle which includes running, cycling and weight training, which made him a perfect candidate for the swap.

He said: ‘My mother-in-law had type 2 diabetes for many years before developing vascular dementia.

‘So I felt like I should try to help in any way I could to try to advance the understanding and treatment of the disease.

‘It was a bit of a shock to the system to go from exercising every day to doing nothing and it took a bit of getting used to. But I am glad that I contributed towards this exciting result.

‘It has changed my outlook on how I eat now – I’m now less concerned about eating natural fats as I understand better how my body is handling them and making good use of them.

‘It also really highlighted the importance of exercise for everyone especially those with type 2 diabetes so I would like more people to know that.

‘It was a very interesting experience and produced an exciting result that potentially opens up new ways to assist with the ever-increasing numbers of patients being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.’

The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.