Posted on 03/25/2004 4:31:31 PM PST by BJClinton
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 .
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.
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.
Oh yeah...theres an unbiased source. She undoubtably advocates aspartame...which is illegal in many countries. And is heavily used in the USA.
Which is why Jolt cola rocked. Nothing but pure cane sugar until recently. Now it may or may not contain High Fructose Obesity Syrup. If they would drop the High Fructose Obesity Syrup I'd buy the stuff by the crate.
INGREDIENTS: Carbonated Water, Sugar And/Or High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Caffeine, Citric Acid And Natural Flavor.
| a sudden increase in the rate at which obesity has been galloping forward."
|
When I was in H.S. (mid 70's) we had all the snack food machines and so on. The major problem was tooth decay.
The cafeteria served foods that could only be described as fattening. The bad kids ran off to the local Dairy Queen and ate even worse stuff.
Yet most of us were not grossly overweight.
Of course, the lifestyle was different then. 3 boring TV channels. (Let's go out!) No Internet, no video games, no VCRS, no couch-potatoes. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Hmmmmm......right after the Old Coke - New Coke - Old Coke event. New "Old" Coke is sweeter than old "Old" Coke.
Natural sugars would be a lot cheaper if Big Stupid Government didn't put tariffs and subsidies on it to prop up their C&H and ADM "donations"/payoffs.
Big Stupid Government steals from us in so many ways, and the Republican Party refuses to even begin to move on getting rid of most of it. They talk a big game to get votes, but why are we paying far above the world market price for sugar?
Better start polishing up your resume. Splenda is kicking major butt. :)
Splenda is kicking major butt. :)Yes it is!! Splenda is wonderful.
I was watching TV last night and an ad for Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice came on. I've seen the ingredient label on that product. Water, HFCS... And it's loaded with calories. If they'd dump HFCS and substitute Splenda, they'd dump most of the calories, too. And I doubt many would notice a change in flavor.
They call it Ocean Spray Light and they have it in four or five flavors Cran-grape is my personal favorite.
They also have one sweetened with NutraSweet. Ack! Phooy! Horrible stuff. Who ever came up with that one should be forced to drink a couple of glass of the junk.
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This is Fat Horse, a Blackfoot warrior and your educational nugget for today. There was potentially a great graphic in the phrase "obesity galloping forward," but alas, this was the best "fat horse" image that Google could come up with. Maybe next time.