High-Fructose Corn Syrup Likely Causes Greater Weight Gain than Table Sugar

When it comes to losing weight, the traditional rule of thumb holds that you must simply take in fewer calories than you burn, but new evidence illustrates that the type of calories you consume is another crucial factor to consider.

In a recent Princeton University study, researchers examined the effects of table sugar versus high-fructose corn syrup, a common cost-effective sweetener found in a wide range of foods and beverages, such as many sodas, breakfast cereals, cookies and fast food. The researchers found that rats that consumed high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those that ingested table sugar, even though both groups of rodents had the same overall caloric intake and same amount of physical exercise. The rats that ingested high-fructose corn syrup over a prolonged period of time also experienced abnormal increases in body fat in the abdomen and had more triglycerides (fat that circulates in the blood).

In humans, the characteristics that these rats developed have been shown to increase the risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes. And since the syrup was introduced to the American diet 40 years ago, obesity rates have gone through the roof... not that we're pointing fingers or anything.

Despite this new evidence, The Corn Refiners Association claims, in nationally broadcasted commercials and on its "Sweet Surprise" website, that "scientific studies continue to find that high fructose corn syrup does not contribute to obesity any differently than sugar."

But if you think the good folks at Princeton just might be onto something and you're looking to cut high-fructose corn syrup out of your diet, it's best to start reading your food labels.

Source:
Princeton University (2010, March 22). Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain. EurekAlert! Retrieved from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/pu-prf032210.php