Fructose blamed for rise in obesity

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4600137/

 

Study: Fructose blamed for rise in obesity

 

Widely used corn sweetener converts to fat in the body

The Associated Press

Updated: 9:02 a.m. ET March 25, 2004

 

RALEIGH, N.C. - Researchers say they've found more evidence of a link

between a rapid rise in obesity and a corn product used to sweeten soft

drinks and food since the 1970s.

 

The researchers examined consumption records from the U.S. Department of

Agriculture for 1967-2000 and combined it with previous research and their

own analyses.

 

The data showed an increase in the use of high-fructose corn sweeteners in

the late 1970s and 1980s " coincidental with the epidemic of obesity, " said

one of the researchers, Dr. George A. Bray, a longtime obesity scientist

with Louisiana State University System's Pennington Biomedical Research

Center. He noted the research didn't prove a definitive link.

 

" Body weights rose slowly for most of the 20th century until the late

1980s, " Bray said. " At that time, many countries showed a sudden increase

in the rate at which obesity has been galloping forward. "

 

The study is being published in the April issue of the American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition.

 

Converted into fat

 

But spokesmen with the food and beverage industry and a leading critic of

fast food both said weight gain would be a problem even if the sweetener

didn't exist.

 

" It's not about the high-fructose corn syrup being a part of foods, it's

about how many calories we're eating against how many calories we're

burning, " said Alison Kretser, a registered dietitian and director of

scientific and nutrition policy for the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

Its members include The Coca-Cola Co., Kellogg Co. and Sara Lee Corp.

 

Obesity among American adults climbed from 23 percent in the early 1990s to

30 percent today, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services. And two-thirds of Americans are overweight. That means increased

risks for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

 

The debate over high-fructose sweeteners centers on how the body processes

sugar. Unlike glucose, a major component in table sugar, fructose doesn't

trigger responses in hormones that regulate energy use and appetite. That

means fructose is more likely to be converted into fat, the researchers

said.

 

The sweeteners are also cheaper to produce and use in food manufacturing

than cane and beet sugars, the study noted.

 

The report, which says more study is needed, also lays blame on people for

eating more and exercising less.

 

Kretser said studies on how the body digests the fructose corn sweetener are

inconclusive because they were done on animals.

 

Container sizes a cause?

 

Companies are responding to the rise in obesity by adding more nutritious

sweeteners to products, such as diet sodas, and returning to smaller

containers, she said.

 

Barry M. Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill who worked on the study, said he believes a third to

half of the increase in calorie intake since the 1970s comes from soft

drinks and fruit drinks.

 

Their report says more than 132 calories a day consumed by Americans age 2

and older come from corn sweeteners.

 

" We cannot increase our physical activity enough to offset the extra 200

calories a day Americans are consuming, " he said.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public

Interest, a consumer advocacy group, said there's no nutritional difference

in the soft drinks sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, decades ago and

those sold today with high-fructose corn sweeteners.

 

He said either blend would contribute to a fat problem because of the

increase in container sizes and the mass distribution of soft drinks.

 

Jacobson, a microbiologist and leading critic of the food industry, also

called the study erroneous.

 

" The authors of this paper misunderstand chemistry, draw erroneous

conclusions and have done a disservice to the public in generating this

controversy, " he said.

 

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