Surprise: Fast Food-Gobbling Research Subjects Got Fat

Back in May, it was announced that Washington University in St. Louis would pay people to stuff their faces with fast food for three months, all in the spirit of scientific discovery. And now, ABC Nightline reports on that study, which offered participants up to $3,500 dollars to to gain around 5 percent of their body weight in three months. The basic rule was that they'd need to eat "an extra 1,000-calorie fast food meal each day." To get the most money, though, you had to drop back to your original weight after the process was over.

Why? Because they wanted to find out "why only some people who gain weight develop diabetes and hypertension, while others do not." Said the professor in charge of the study, "What you learn on flies and worms won't translate to people." Because flies cannot eat entire Quarter Pounders? See the video below to learn about the highs and lows of the study, including heightened metabolism and, yes, getting fat.

Video: Fast Food Diet Participants Paid to Purposely Gain Weight