Dear Dr. Mirkin,

Does high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) cause obesity?

Life-shortening obesity among adult Americans has tripled from 1960 to the present (to 37 percent). HFCS was incorrectly blamed because it became widely used in soft drinks during the same time period. However, Dr. James Rippe of the University of Central Florida points out that "There are no measured differences between insulin, leptin, ghrelin, blood sugar, uric acid, triglycerides, satiety, appetite or calories consumed at subsequent meals when comparing HFCS to sucrose. Both contain the same calories and sweetness."

Your body responds in the same way to fruit juices, soft drinks sweetened with HFCS or sucrose, and any other sugared beverage such as tea or coffee. Some people think that HFCS is more harmful than other sugars because they mistakenly believe that is loaded with fructose.

Pure crystalline fructose raises triglycerides and uric acid higher than glucose does, and it may increase risk for insulin resistance, obesity, elevated LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and metabolic syndrome. However, despite its name, HFCS is not significantly higher in fructose than other sugars. Fruit sugar contains 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose, while HFCS contains 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, no real difference.

We now understand why all sugared drinks can contribute to obesity. When you eat sugar in a solid food, your brain recognizes the calories and you may eat fewer calories from other sources. However, when you eat the same amount of sugar in liquid form, your brain fails to recognize these calories and you are likely to eat more.

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