Fructose-Sweetened Beverages Linked to Diabetes
By Richard Shank
The link between fructose-sweetened beverages and the risk of diabetes was recently confirmed in a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. By examining the consumption of both fructose-sweetened and glucose-sweetened drinks, the authors found that only fructose-sweetened drinks had an impact on the diabetes risk profile of respondents (including those with insulin sensitivity).
Previous research had firmly established the link between fructose and diabetes risk in animal studies. However, direct experimental research confirming this link in humans was not significant. This study attempts to fill that gap by comparing the biological impact of two of the major dietary sugars—glucose and fructose—on weight gain, fat deposition, and insulin sensitivity.
In order to assess the impact of these dietary sugars, the researchers monitored the body weight, body fat, and insulin sensitivity of 32 individuals over a 10-week period. Half of the subjects were put on diets that called for 25% of the body’s energy supplementation to come from glucose-sweetened beverages; the other half of the study participants did the same with fructose-sweetened beverages.
Consumption of fructose-sweetened beverages for just 10 weeks increased insulin insensitivity and other measures related to diabetes, but this was not true for those consuming glucose-sweetened drinks. However, by the end of the study, both groups experienced weight gain and increases in fat composition, although the type of fat composition was different in each group.
The researchers conclude that glucose clearly impacts obesity; however it does so in a way that does not produce the insulin insensitivity that is characteristic of diabetes. These findings further illustrate that all sugars are not equal and can impact the body in different ways, even if each produces an outward appearance of weight gain.
Source: Stanhope, K. Schwarz, J., Keim, N. et al. 2009. Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans. The Journal of Clinical Investigation (In Press).
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