20 May 2015 --- A new study in animals suggests that skipping meals sets off a series of metabolic miscues that can result in abdominal weight gain. In the study, mice that ate all of their food as a single meal and fasted the rest of the day developed insulin resistance in their livers - which scientists consider a telltale sign of prediabetes. When the liver doesn't respond to insulin signals telling it to stop producing glucose, that extra sugar in the blood is stored as fat.