Investigative Analysis

Is Corn Syrup a Killer?

April 2005

It seems like you can't pick up a newspaper these days without reading about the "obesity epidemic." The rates of obesity are skyrocketing, and with this increase comes an increased risk of obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and type II diabetes. The statistics are startling. Nearly one third of all American adults are now classified as obese. According to data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 31 percent of adults 20 years of age and over have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, compared with 23 percent in data gathered by the National Center for Health Statistics in 1994. The percent of children and teenagers who are overweight also continues to grow. Nearly 15 percent of Americans ages 6-19 are overweight, roughly triple what the number was in 1980. Why are more and more Americans weighing more and more? According to a recent commentary published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, one contributing factor may be a dramatic increase in the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) a sweetener commonly used in soft drinks.

In an analysis of food consumption patterns from USDA food consumption tables from 1967 to 2000, the authors of the commentary found more than a 1000% increase in HFCS consumption between 1970 and 1990, an increase that far exceeds the changes in intake of any other food. According to the commentary authors, HFCS now constitutes more than 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the only caloric sweetener used in soft drinks in the United States. They noted that the increase in HFCS consumption mirrors closely the increase in the rate of obesity over the same period.

The average consumption of HFCS for Americans over 2 years of age is estimated to translate into 132 kilocalories per day. For the top 20% of HFCS consumers, the estimate is 316 kilocalories per day. That's a lot of calories, but the authors of the Am J Clin Nutr commentary on the subject say that the impact of HFCS on obesity may be more than just an increase in caloric intake. According to them, it may stem from the way fructose is processed by the body.

The digestion and metabolism of fructose differ from that of glucose in ways that may make it more likely to contribute to weight gain. Compared to glucose, fructose is more likely to be converted into fat in the liver. Moreover, unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate the release of insulin or the production of leptin, two factors that may help regulate appetite to limit food intake. The net result is that the increased consumption of HFCS, primarily from increased consumption of sweetened soft drinks, may not only increase total caloric consumption, the calories consumed may be more likely to be stored as fat than to be used as an immediate energy source.

In the conclusion of their article, the authors of the commentary in the Am J Clin Nutr recommended that the use of HFCS in beverages be reduced in favor of non-caloric sweeteners. They also suggested reduction in a total soft drink consumption. While both recommendations seem like sensible steps to take, the second option would likely be more appealing to those concerned about the health effects of non-caloric sweeteners like saccharine and aspartame. But will cutting back on soda consumption reduce the rate of obesity? One small study conducted on British schoolchildren indicates it can. In this study, published in the April 24, 2004 edition of the British Medical Journal, 15 classes took part in an educational program aimed at reducing soft drink consumption. After one year, the classes who took part in the program had a significantly lower percentage of obese and overweight children compared to 14 other classes who served as the control group. The results of this study suggest that reducing HFCS consumption may indeed reduce the rate of obesity, and that better education may be an effective way of accomplishing this goal.

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