Added sugars are clearly not the cause of obesity
HomeAdded sugars are clearly not the cause of obesity
By John S. White Hearst Newspapers
ARGENTA, Ill. — First lady Michelle Obama has taken up the charge to stamp out childhood obesity, a pernicious problem among American children.
"The life-threatening consequences of this epidemic create a compelling and critical call for action that cannot be ignored," Obama's White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity said in a report released earlier this year.
"Obesity is estimated to cause 112,000 deaths per year in the United States, and one third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes during their lifetime. The current generation may even be on track to have a shorter lifespan than their parents."
In addition to the human toll, obesity in children is an economic drag. The report estimated that the direct medical costs associated with childhood obesity top $3 billion annually.
As our political leaders attempt to translate complex (and often incomplete or incorrect) obesity science into public policy, let's be sure they target the real culprits — too many calories, too little exercise and a lack of moderation in food consumption.
That might sound obvious, but the convergence of public advocacy and health science is often a slippery slope where facts fall victim to volume: Whoever yells the loudest and longest is perceived as right and true.
That's certainly been the case in the debate over obesity and its root causes in America, where nutritive sweeteners, also called added sugars, have been mischaracterized as unhealthy food choices. What underpins the rash of proposed "soda taxes" in various jurisdictions around the country on drinks that contain sweeteners is the assumption that the drinks promote obesity.
In particular, critics of high fructose corn syrup have replaced reason with noise as they attempt to strong-arm food manufacturers into substituting sucrose (common table sugar) for high fructose corn syrup in products ranging from beverages to crackers to breads and muffins.
For example, celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels has publicly bashed high fructose corn syrup, while "Supermarket Guru" Phil Lempert has perpetuated misconceptions about high fructose corn syrup on national talk shows, such as the "Today" show and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Companies like Hunts, Gatorade and Starbucks have taken the corn sweetener out of some or all of their products.
The reality is that high fructose corn syrup and table sugar are nearly identical in their composition. Both contain approximately 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. Table sugar and high fructose corn syrup have the same number of calories — both have four calories per gram. And because they are nearly compositionally equivalent, "once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable," according to the American Dietetic Association.
As the first lady embarks on her admirable effort to curtail obesity in America, it is a good time to separate caloric sweetener fact from fiction and historical conjecture from current scientific understanding:
The introduction of high fructose corn syrup 35 years ago is not the cause of obesity. High fructose corn syrup is a liquid sweetener alternative to table sugar, conceived to overcome periodic shortages in sugar availability and sugar price spikes. As use of high fructose corn syrup as a replacement for table sugar increased, use of table sugar decreased in proportion. Yet, despite the expansion of sweetener choice, more table sugar is still used in the United States today (and worldwide) than high fructose corn syrup.
Obesity arises from consuming too many calories from all dietary sources over a prolonged period of time — with no compensating increase in exercise. In the past 35 years, daily calorie intake for the average American has risen an alarming 24 percent.
While energy from added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup and table sugar has increased by just 55 calories per day during this period (14 percent), energy from cereals/flour and fats rose by 185 calories (42 percent) and 230 calories (56 percent) per day, respectively, according to 2010 data compiled by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. At just one-tenth of the total calorie increase, added sugars are clearly not the cause of obesity.
Recent reports by the American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association and expert scientific panels confirm there is little difference in composition, calories and metabolism between added sugars such as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, and honey and fruit juice concentrates.
David S. Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at internationally renowned Children's Hospital in Boston, and associate professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, said it well: "The decision to switch from high fructose corn syrup to cane sugar is 100 percent marketing and zero percent science."
Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director, Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, "To pretend that a product sweetened with sugar is healthier than a product sweetened by high fructose corn syrup is totally misguided."
And this from the American Medical Association, which represents some U.S. physicians: "Because the composition of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that high fructose corn syrup contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose."
Childhood obesity is serious. Traditional sweeteners like table sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the not the root of the problem. If we could flip a switch and eradicate both tomorrow, childhood obesity would persist. That's because sweeteners are not the issue — behavior is. In order to stop obesity, we have to help children make good food choices, spur them to exercise more and instill in them a culture of food moderation.
John S. White is president and founder of White Technical Research, an international food and beverage consulting firm located in Argenta, Ill. A Ph.D. in biochemistry, White is an expert on high fructose corn syrup, serving as an adviser to food and beverage manufacturers, trade organizations, governmental agencies and research institutes.