[BJClinton]

The debate goes on. By I lost 50 lbs cutting out the empty carbs...and I've kept it off for a year.

[Khurkris]

"...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.

Oh yeah...theres an unbiased source. She undoubtably advocates aspartame...which is illegal in many countries. And is heavily used in the USA.

[Dr. Frank fan]

This just proves how advanced our society is. We developed an ultra-efficient and extremely cheap means of delivering maximal calories + fat storage to humans in edible doses. Yay for Western civ!

[SeeRushToldU_So]

Ban that posion fruitcose! It is a killer and all America needs to be safe from that death by sugar.

[goodnesswins]

I don't know about this "fructose" theory, but having canned foods like peas and corn include sugar (which many do now) is kinda stupid, IMHO.

[ladyinred]

This is bunk. The real reason is Nonfat food which fooled American's to think they could eat as much as they wanted and not gain weight. No fat does not man No calories. I have seen this over and over. I lost 135 lbs many years ago drinking diet Pepsi all the way through it.

[Spiff]

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.

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.

[Nick Danger]

a sudden increase in the rate at which obesity has been galloping forward."

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.

[LibKill]

I have no idea why we are producing so many double-wide kids.

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.

[Overtaxed]

"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."

Hmmmmm......right after the Old Coke - New Coke - Old Coke event. New "Old" Coke is sweeter than old "Old" Coke.

[Hank Rearden]

The sweeteners are also cheaper to produce and use in food manufacturing than cane and beet sugars, the study noted.

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?

[rogueleader]

Yep, it's the corn.

Let me tell you something. I don't know what it is, but I am really suspicious of corn now. There's something going on, and it is not good.

Think twice before eating corn.

Let me put it to you this way. There must be a reason why corn visibly turns up in your stools. Why doesn't it digest like everything else?

[chantal7]

I certainly hope they do something about putting the corn syrups into so many foods. It's killing me. I'm very allergic to corn and lately I keep running into corn syrup solids which give me asthma attacks.

[.38sw]

High fructose corn syrup is in so many things. I bought some "light" yogurt last week, and didn't read the label until I got it home. While it is sweetened with Nutrasweet, it also has high fructose corn syrup in it! I guess I'll just start making my own yogurt. Look at salad dressing labels, too. It is often the second ingredient listed, which means there is a lot of it. I'm trying to get into the habit of reading labels before I buy any prepared foods, but it sure adds to my shopping time. *sigh*

[SaveTheChief]

I am waiting for a brilliant scientific study to be released that claims lack of exercise and a lifestyle of physical inactivity to be a cause in the obesity problem.

True, sugars contribute to the problem in a big way, but a lazy society (me included) with a self-induced slow metabolism due to lack of exercise is the main problem.

Bad convenience foods are also to blame, but you have to look at the reason these foods exist. Many people are too lazy to make healthy meals so they go out and get fast food, or buy packaged carbo-loaded dinners of whatever is easy to prepare. But again, this would not be so much of a problem if people would exercise.

I think, with very few exceptions, a lazy society is to blame for the obesity problem. I know that has certainly been my problem.

[Jhensy]

Take a look at the label of your loaf of 'healthy' whole wheat bread. Full of high fructose corn syrup, unless you buy an organic health-food store version.

[tiki]

Coca Cola was much better before they changed from sugar to high fructose corn syrup.

[LaBradford22]

Another example of a government policy creating a big problem. HCFS is more difficult for the human body to break down than sugar (sugar is a natural sweetener - our body inherently knows how to break it down). As a result, HCFS will cause more obesity than sugar. The reason why HCFS is commonly used as a substitute for sugar is because it is cheaper. The reason why HCFS is cheaper than sugar is because our government subsidizes the sugar industry.

Another example of why mindless government intrusion into the free market is, almost without exception, a bad thing.