Researchers at the University of Navarra followed the diets of more than 9000 young adults over 5 years to determine what impact the consumption of white bread has on a population with a bread heavy diet.

Researchers examined the data, and found that participants who ate whole grain or brown bread had no increased risk of being overweight or obese. Similarly, participants who ate both white and brown or whole grain bread didn’t face an increased risk of obesity or being overweight.

However, the study found that participants who ate more than 3 slices of white bread a day were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than participants who ate white bread rarely or not at all.

Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, a professor at the University of Navarra who was involved in the study, stated that the reason frequent consumption of white bread increases your risk of obesity is because the highly refined flour used to make white bread is absorbed by the body as sugar, which is quickly turned into fat.