BBC Two Show Featuring Professor Fredrik Karpe and Filmed at Pembroke Airs on TV

Professor Fredrik Karpe, Retained Lecturer in Medicine at Pembroke, has appeared on the 2016 Summer Special edition of BBC Two’s ‘Trust Me, I’m A Doctor’.

In a segment filmed on site at Pembroke College and broadcast on 12th July at 8pm, four groups of participants take part in a scientific experiment to test different methods for reducing abdominal fat.

Of these teams, two were overseen by Professor Karpe, whose approaches focus on diet – one based on his own research and another testing a common ‘internet fad’. The final two groups are led by Professor Dylan Thompson from the University of Bath, who in both of his experiments places emphasis on exercise as a method for reducing fat.

Prof. Karpe’s first group follow his own method, which involves eating less, implementing portion size control and reducing snacking. His second group adheres to his chosen ‘internet fad’: introducing three glasses of semi-skimmed milk per day into their diet (some claim that the calcium in milk helps your body to stop absorbing the fat from your food).

Prof. Dylan Thompson’s first group follow a simple exercise regime to make them more physically active and increase their daily step count, while his second tests an internet theory that abdominal fat can be reduced by regularly performing sit-ups.

Those doing exercise as part of Professor Thompson’s experiments tended to lose weight and had reduced blood pressure, but did not lose any visceral fat, considered ‘bad fat’. Similarly, the group taking part in Professor Karpe’s milk ‘internet fad’ test did not see a reduction in visceral fat, although some reported that it lowered their appetite.

The group adhering to the portion control method based on Professor Karpe’s research, however, were more successful, losing on average almost 4kg in body weight and 5% in total body fat levels. Even more impressively, an average of almost 14% of visceral fat was lost. This group saw a reduction in their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and waistline measurements.

The programme therefore concluded that the most effective method for reducing harmful fat in the stomach is through careful portion control.

Click here to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

Prof. Karpe, who is the Professor of Metablolic Medicine at the ‘Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism’, first appeared on ‘Trust Me I’m a Doctor’ in January 2016, where he spoke about his research into different types of fat tissue in the body.