High Fructose Corn Syrup and Weight Gain

It has always been an assumption that as far as sweeteners go, a calorie is a calorie. However, a new study suggests this isn't the case.

A study published online Feb. 26 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, researchers from the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and the Princeton Department of Psychology revealed that high fructose corn syrup might have more of a negative effect on your weight than sugar, even when the number of calories consumed are identical.

Researchers Bart Hoebel (professor of Psychology at Princeton), Miriam Bocarsly (Princeton graduate student), Elyse Powell (Princeton undergraduate student) and Nicole Avena (Rockefeller University/University of Florida professor) used two trials to evaluate if there are differences between high fructose corn syrup and table sugar (sucrose).

In the first study, they fed male rats diet rat chow along with water. In half the rats, the water was sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. In the other half, the water sweetener was sucrose. The researchers used the same sucrose solution as in soft drinks, but cut the high fructose corn syrup solution in half.

In study number two, the researchers took on a long-term evaluation of rats who consumed high fructose corn syrup to those who did not. According to Hilary Parker at Princeton, not only did the rats who consumed high fructose corn syrup gain more weight and have a much larger waist, "rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly." It is important to note that the rats had elevated triglycerides to go along with their increased waist size: key indicators of diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and cancer in humans.

"Our findings lend support to the theory that the excessive consumption of high-fructose corn syrup found in many beverages may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic," Avena said. Keep in mind that high fructose corn syrup is everywhere because of the cost-effectiveness of it, it is an increasingly common additive in everything from sodas to candy to granola bars.

Dieters should try to limit all sugar intake when trying to lose weight, but this study also shows that they should be particularly wary of high fructose corn syrup-containing foods.

(To see the full results, go to Princeton's official study report.)