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Diabetes more prevalent in countries using high fructose corn syrup
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Countries that use high fructose corn syrup in their food supply have a 20% greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes compared with countries that do not, according to an international analysis by researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Southern California.
Research has associated the Western diet with an increased risk for obesity. Recent studies have hypothesized that high fructose corn syrup has a negative effect on metabolic health and risk for type 2 diabetes.
“[High fructose corn syrup] appears to pose a serious public health problem on a global scale,” researcher and professor of preventive medicine, director of the Childhood Obesity Research Center and co-director of the Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, Michael I. Goran, PhD, said in a press release. “The study adds to a growing body of scientific literature that indicates [high fructose corn syrup] consumption may result in negative health consequences distinct from and more deleterious than natural sugar.”
Goran and colleagues analyzed the mean values for the years 2000, 2004 and 2007 from the Global Burden of Metabolic Risk Factors Collaborating Group, and data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) for 43 countries.
Despite no differences in BMI or in other dietary variables, including caloric intake and total sugar intake, compared with countries that do not use high fructose corn syrup, researchers found that indicators of diabetes were higher in countries that use high fructose corn syrup compared with those that do not.
According to data, the trend was statistically significant for IDF estimates of diabetes prevalence (P=.013) and fasting plasma glucose (P=.046). Furthermore, at a rate of 25 kg per year, the United States has the highest per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup, according to a press release. The country with the second highest per capita consumption is Hungary, with a rate of 16 kg per year.
“This research suggests that [high fructose corn syrup] can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, which is one of the most common causes of death in the world today,” researcher and director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford, Stanley Ulijaszek, PhD, said in a press release.
The analysis suggests a potential economic impact of high fructose corn syrup on diabetes. According to researchers, public health strategies should be implemented to provide consumers with better food and beverage labels regarding high fructose corn syrup content.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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