High fructose corn syrup and the obesity link
May 20, 2010 by @MichelleRodulfo
Filed under Body Wellness
ConAgra Foods Inc., one of North America’s largest packaged foods companies with revenues in excess of US$12 billion in 2009 was in the news this week. The company seems to be falling inline with other food manufacturers by making small but noteworthy changes in one of their popular brands in what appears to be a reaction to the media buzz about high fructose corn syrup and its association with obesity.
So ConAgra’s has removed high fructose corn syrup from its Hunt’s brand ketchup. Good news for consumers. You may recall that PepiCo Inc. removed all high-fructose corn syrup from its Gatorade sport drink and replaced it with cane sugar.
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been around since the 1970‘s when our obesity rate was around the 15% mark. Today, it is found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. And that adds up to a whole lot of high fructose corn syrup – about 60 pounds on average per person each year, according to the experts.
And there’s more, according to a recent study by a Princeton University research team:
“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.”
To read more about this study click here.
The result of the Princeton study is good news for consumers. Why? Because it completely refutes the Corn Refiners Association’s assertion that high fructose corn syrup is no worse for us than regular sugar.
Let’s hope that more manufacturers will step up to the plate by removing high fructose corn syrup from their products to help us all battle obesity.
High fructose corn syrup – Get the Facts!
Source: Associated Press
Source: News at Princeton
Please see what others have to say about the Princeton study before accepting the results.
“So, I’m skeptical. I don’t think the study produces convincing evidence of a difference between the effects of HFCS and sucrose on the body weight of rats. I’m afraid I have to agree with the Corn Refiners on this one. So does HFCS make rats fat? Sure if you feed them too many calories altogether. Sucrose will do that too.” Marion Nestle, Ph.D., Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, New York University http://cli.gs/Jrsys
“The researchers concluded ‘over-consumption of HFCS could very well be a major factor in the ‘obesity epidemic,’ which correlates with the upsurge in the use of HFCS.’ It might be. But to my mind, these experiments hardly prove it.” Karen Kaplan, Science Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times http://bit.ly/buSWxb
“This study is poorly designed and poorly controlled and does not prove or even suggest that HFCS is more likely to lead to obesity than sucrose [table sugar].” Karen Teff, Ph.D., Associate Director, Institute for Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine http://bit.ly/bkD52b
When talking about pounds of high fructose corn syrup consumed, please consider that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data shows that per capita consumption of sugar has always exceeded the per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup. In fact, consumption of this corn sweetener has declined since its peak in 1999. According to USDA estimates, annual per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup for 2008 was 37.8 pounds. The 2008 sugar consumption estimate was over 9 pounds greater at 47.3 pounds per person. Please see the attached chart for more information. http://bit.ly/ctezzK
It is especially important to understand that Americans are consuming more calories from all types of foods today than what was consumed 30 years ago, and we expend less energy to burn the extra calories. Consider the numbers reported in the February 2009 Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Total caloric intake on a per capita basis for Americans increased from 2,172 calories per day in 1970 to 2,775 calories per day in 2007 – an additional 603 calories.
Major contributors to this 603-calorie increase include 299 calories from added fats and 194 calories from flour and cereal products. Added sugars account for only 57 calories of the daily increase.
You can also learn more about high fructose corn syrup at http://www.SweetSurprise.com.
Audrae Erickson, Corn Refiners Association
Thank you for your comments and for responding to my blog post.
First of all let me say that I write this blog because of my passion for health and wellness. It is not sponsored, nor am I paid for my work. My post was merely reporting on the latest study regarding HFCS.
My experience has been that it is common for certain information to be withheld from the public for a variety of reasons and given it’s own unique “spin” and “wash” to make it more palatable.
The fact is that new medical research often completely refutes old beliefs, allowing the truth to rise to the surface. Just today AOL news reported that a new study indicates that some sunscreens may accelerate cancer. And guess what? It was also reported that the FDA had held on to this information for a full 10 years.
HFCS – take it or leave it? I think I’ll leave it.