Evidence-Based Review on the Effect of Normal Dietary Consumption of Fructose on Blood Lipids and Body Weight of Overweight and Obese Individuals

Abstract

Although some investigators have hypothesized that ingestion of fructose from foods and beverages is responsible for the development of hyperlipidemia or obesity, a recent evidence-based review demonstrated that there was no relationship between the consumption of fructose in a normal dietary manner and the development of hyperlipidemia or increased weight in normal weight individuals. Because overweight and obese individuals may exhibit metabolic abnormalities such as insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, hyperlipedemia, and/or alterations in gut hormones involved in appetite regulation, the findings of fructose studies performed in normal weight subjects may not be particularly relevant for overweight or obese subjects. A systematic assessment of the strength and quality of the studies and their relevance for overweight or obese humans ingesting fructose in a normal dietary manner has not been performed. The purpose of this review was to critically evaluate the existing database for a causal relationship between the ingestion of fructose in a normal, dietary manner and the development of hyperlipidemia or increased body weight in overweight or obese humans, using an evidence-based approach. The results of the analysis indicate that there is no evidence which shows that the consumption of fructose at normal levels of intake causes biologically relevant changes in triglycerides (TG) or body weight in overweight or obese individuals.

Keywords:

• Triglycerides
• fructose
• body weight
• obesity
• human

Notes

¹It is unknown whether either of these subjects was overweight.

²American Diabetes Association.

³As defined by Metropolitan Life Insurance Tables (1983).

⁴The three citations mentioned all pertain to the Turku sugar study and are referred to as the Huttunen et al. (1976) study from this point forward.