Planning to stuff yourself this Christmas? A 45-minute workout can combat the damage even if you burn fewer calories than you eat Exercising 45 minutes a day a week before Christmas could be enough Study at University of Bath found indulgence did not affect exercisers Non-exercisers had slowed metabolism and dropped blood sugar levels Feast away: Scientists have found overeating will not affect blood sugar levels in people who exercise A short daily workout now could combat over-eating and days of lazing about at Christmas, scientists claim. Research has shown a short period of indulgence can cause long-term effects on the body. But a new study released today revealed this can be countered by 45 minutes of exercise a day in the run up to the festive season - even if the amount of calories consumed is significantly more than those burned off. Experts at the University of Bath found exercising during a time of excess can stabilise blood sugar levels and prevent damage to metabolism. In a group of 26 healthy young men, half of them only exercised daily on a treadmill for 45 minutes, while the other half remained entirely inactive. All of the participants were told to overeat. Those who did not exercise increased their calorie intake by 50 per cent and the others consumed 75 per cent more. But after one week, the non-exercising group's blood sugar levels fell into an unhealthy decline, while those doing a daily workout showed no side effects from the extra food. Metabolism also slowed in the men that did not exercise, the study showed, as the genes in their fat cells were not adequately activated to process the sizable meals. Dr Dylan Thompson, senior author of the paper, published in the Journal of Physiology today, said: 'We matched the energy surplus between groups, so the exercising group consumed even more and were still better off at the end of the week. If you are facing a period of over-consumption and inactivity this Christmas, then our study shows that a daily bout of exercise will prevent many of the negative changes in the way in which your body handles sugar, even if you do still gain weight. Solution: Study found we can indulge in peace if we do a short daily bout of exercise in the run up to Christmas Dr James Betts, one of the researchers who worked on the study, added: 'This new research shows that the picture is more sophisticated than "energy" alone. Exercise has positive effects even when we are actively storing energy and gaining weight. Dr Jean-Philippe Walhin, also from the university, added: 'Short-term overfeeding and reduced physical activity had a dramatic impact on the overall metabolic health of the participants and on various key genes within fat tissue. However, even though energy was still being stored, regular exercise prevented many of the long-term negative changes from taking place.