Dietary fructose, fruits, fruit juices and glucose tolerance status in Japanese–Brazilians

Abstract

Background and aims Evidence suggests that fructose and sweetened beverages may be a risk factor for obesity and type 2 diabetes, but the role of sweetened fruit juices in glucose disturbances has been minimally explored. The aim of this study was to examine the association of total fructose, fresh fruit and sweetened fruit juice intake with glucose tolerance homeostasis in Japanese–Brazilians. Methods and results A total of 475 men and 579 women aged ≥30 years were evaluated in a cross-sectional population-based survey with a standardized protocol including a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (WHO criteria). Habitual food consumption was obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire for Japanese–Brazilians. After adjustments for potential confounding variables, the odds ratio (OR; 95%CI) for impaired glucose tolerance was 2.1 (1.0–4.5; P for trend = 0.05) for the highest as compared to the lowest tertile intake of total fructose and 2.3 (1.1–5.1; P for trend = 0.05) for the highest as compared to the lowest tertile intake of sweetened fruit juices. Conclusion Our results showed that high intakes of dietary fructose and sweetened fruit juices, but not whole fresh fruits, were associated with impaired glucose tolerance among genetically susceptible individuals.