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xp from PCE: scary HFCS study out of Princeton
A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain
Posted March 22, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
by Hilary Parker
A
Princeton
University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not
equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose
corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to
table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term
consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal
increases
in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood
fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light
on
the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.
"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different
than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our
results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the
conditions of our tests," said psychology
professor Bart
Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and
sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at
levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every
single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet,
you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
A Princeton University research team, including (from left) undergraduate Elyse Powell, psychology professor Bart Hoebel, visiting research associate Nicole Avena and graduate student Miriam Bocarsly, has demonstrated that rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup -- a sweetener found in many popular sodas -- gain significantly more weight than those with access to water sweetened with table sugar, even when they consume the same number of calories. The work may have important implications for understanding obesity trends in the United States. (Photo: Denise Applewhite) Photos for news media
In results published online
March 18 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the
researchers from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton
Neuroscience
Institute reported on two experiments investigating the link between
the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity.
The first study showed that male rats given water sweetened with
high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow
gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened
with table sugar, or sucrose, in conjunction with the standard diet. The
concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found
in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup
solution was half as concentrated as most sodas.
The second experiment -- the first long-term study of the effects of
high-fructose corn syrup consumption on obesity in lab animals --
monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rats with
access to high-fructose corn syrup over a period of six months. Compared
to animals eating only rat chow, rats on a diet rich in high-fructose
corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in
humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain,
significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat
deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly. Male rats in
particular ballooned in size: Animals with access to high-fructose corn
syrup gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet.
"These rats aren't just getting fat; they're demonstrating
characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal
fat and circulating triglycerides," said Princeton graduate student Miriam
Bocarsly. "In humans, these same characteristics are known risk
factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and
diabetes." In addition to Hoebel and Bocarsly, the research team
included Princeton undergraduate Elyse
Powell and visiting research associate Nicole
Avena, who was affiliated with Rockefeller University during the
study and is now on the faculty at the University of Florida. The
Princeton researchers note that they do not know yet why high-fructose
corn syrup fed to rats in their study generated more triglycerides, and
more body fat that resulted in obesity.
When male rats were given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow, the animals gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, along with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas, including the orange soft drink shown here. (Photo: Denise Applewhite)
High-fructose corn syrup and sucrose
are both compounds that contain the simple sugars fructose and glucose,
but there at least two clear differences between them. First, sucrose is
composed of equal amounts of the two simple sugars -- it is 50 percent
fructose and 50 percent glucose -- but the typical high-fructose corn
syrup used in this study features a slightly imbalanced ratio,
containing 55 percent fructose and 42 percent glucose. Larger sugar
molecules called higher saccharides make up the remaining 3 percent of
the sweetener. Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for
high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are
free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization. In contrast,
every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet
sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through
an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized.
This creates a fascinating puzzle. The rats in the Princeton study
became obese by drinking high-fructose corn syrup, but not by drinking
sucrose. The critical differences in appetite, metabolism and gene
expression that underlie this phenomenon are yet to be discovered, but
may relate to the fact that excess fructose is being metabolized to
produce fat, while glucose is largely being processed for energy or
stored as a carbohydrate, called glycogen, in the liver and muscles.
In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a
cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the
U.S. have skyrocketed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the
definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults
are considered obese, the CDC reported. High-fructose corn syrup is
found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice,
soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. On average,
Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year.
"Our findings lend support to the theory that the excessive consumption
of high-fructose corn syrup found in many beverages may be an important
factor in the obesity epidemic," Avena said.
The new research complements previous work led by Hoebel and Avena
demonstrating that sucrose can be addictive, having effects on the brain
similar to some drugs of abuse.
In the future, the team intends to explore how the animals respond to
the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in conjunction with a
high-fat diet -- the equivalent of a typical fast-food meal containing a
hamburger, fries and soda -- and whether excessive high-fructose corn
syrup consumption contributes to the diseases associated with obesity.
Another step will be to study how fructose affects brain function in the
control of appetite.
The research was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
I am the 99%.
Re: xp from PCE: scary HFCS study out of Princeton
Marion Nestle had a great commentary on the shortfalls of this study:
http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/03/hfcs-makes-rats-fat/
and she's "one of us."
food blog | garden blog | curly dogs blog
sarcasm
OMG I'm shocked!
/sarcasm
We tried cutting it out of our diets for the hell of it 3 years ago. It was ridiculously hard, which leads me to believe that people do not consume HFCS in moderation. By switching things that had it over to things that don't (ice cream, chocolate syrup, condiments, bread, yogurt, etc) we both lost 5 pounds (or was it 10?) in a month. Without changing anything else in our diets or exercise plans. So it's not like I gave up my nightly bowl of ice cream or anything and suddenly dropped at least 5 pounds.
I hate HFCS, and I wish more people would say no to it, for all of the reason it's bad.
i wish they wouldn't try to sneak it into everydamnproduct at the grocery store. i've cut it out more than DH, but he's the one that could stand to lose a few lbs.