Commentary Cites Lack of Evidence Linking HFCS to Obesity Epidemic

A recent commentary published in the International Journal of Obesity has dubbed high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) “one of the most misunderstood ingredients,” arguing that studies linking the sweetener’s use to increasing obesity rates tend to rely on temporal associations, “an ecologic fallacy in which group data are extrapolated to individuals.” D.M. Klurfeld et al., “Lack of evidence for high fructose corn syrup as the cause of the obesity epidemic,” International Journal of Obesity, September 2012. In particular, the article’s authors claim that not only did earlier hypotheses fuel misconceptions about “the metabolism and health effects of HFCS,” but more recent research has failed to identify a mechanism by which HFCS affects the body differently than sucrose, “the leading source of fructose in the American diet.” They also note that obesity and diabetes rates have not declined even as HFCS consumption has decreased and that these rates have persisted in areas such as Mexico, Australia and Europe where there is little or no HFCS available.

“While the scientific debate is largely over, the public debate related to HFCS and obesity has, by no means, concluded. There are literally thousands of postings on the Internet related to putative links between HFCS and obesity as well as a variety of other metabolic abnormalities,” conclude the authors, who warn that a similar story is unfolding for sugar-sweetened beverages despite the current state of the literature. “Moreover, a number of manufacturers have yielded to adverse publicity and removed HFCS from their products and replaced it with sucrose despite overwhelming scientific evidence that the two sugars are metabolically equivalent. These sequellae of the initial scientific debate, which persist long after the scientific debate is over, remind us that issues that are important to the public may persist and be misinterpreted long after scientific debate has been concluded.”