Free sugars and human health

Abstract

In his Viewpoint (Mar 27, p 1068),1Mann J Free sugars and human health: sufficient evidence for action?.Lancet. 2004; 363: 1068-1070Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (29) Google Scholar Jim Mann raises serious questions by not acknowledging a fundamental fact about human sucrose consumption. He ignores a critical piece of publicly available scientific information that argues against any direct relation between the sucrose content of the diet and the increase in obesity in the USA and, probably, worldwide.As shown in the figure, loss-adjusted2United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Briefing Room Sugar and sweetener yearbook tables. Table 51.http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/sugar/Data/data.htmGoogle Scholar per-capita deliveries of sucrose for US food and beverage use have declined steadily since 1970, as obesity has increased. The sucrose segment of US caloric sweetener deliveries dropped from 85% in 1970 to 43% in 2002.3United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Briefing Room Sugar and sweetener yearbook tables. Table 49.http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/sugar/Data/data.htmGoogle Scholar Declining sucrose deliveries are projected for 2003 and 2004.4United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, World Agricultural Outlook Board World agricultural supply and demand estimates, 408-14.http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/waobr/view.asp?f=wasde-bbGoogle Scholar On the basis of these data, even a novice would find it scientifically challenging to maintain that the sucrose content of the human diet is causally related to the rise in obesity.By categorising all free sugars as the same, Mann ignores the importance of assessing dietary sugars and their relation to physiological responses and possible health outcomes on an individual basis, as has been done with fatty acids. When so differentiated, inherent physiological differences among the various dietary sugars become discernible.5Bantle JP Raatz SK Thomas W Georgopoulos A Effects of dietary fructose on plasma lipids in healthy subjects.Am J Clin Nutr. 2000; 72: 1128-1134PubMed Google ScholarWe have little hope of successfully reversing the worldwide epidemic of obesity as long as all free sugars continue to be regarded as identical and simplistically related causally to adverse health outcomes such as excess weight. The data presented here should be cause for careful reconsideration of any policy statement or action that includes sucrose as a causative factor in the worldwide epidemic of obesity. By Mann's own admission, no such body of reproducible data supporting this viewpoint exists. In his Viewpoint (Mar 27, p 1068),1Mann J Free sugars and human health: sufficient evidence for action?.Lancet. 2004; 363: 1068-1070Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (29) Google Scholar Jim Mann raises serious questions by not acknowledging a fundamental fact about human sucrose consumption. He ignores a critical piece of publicly available scientific information that argues against any direct relation between the sucrose content of the diet and the increase in obesity in the USA and, probably, worldwide. As shown in the figure, loss-adjusted2United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Briefing Room Sugar and sweetener yearbook tables. Table 51.http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/sugar/Data/data.htmGoogle Scholar per-capita deliveries of sucrose for US food and beverage use have declined steadily since 1970, as obesity has increased. The sucrose segment of US caloric sweetener deliveries dropped from 85% in 1970 to 43% in 2002.3United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Briefing Room Sugar and sweetener yearbook tables. Table 49.http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/sugar/Data/data.htmGoogle Scholar Declining sucrose deliveries are projected for 2003 and 2004.4United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, World Agricultural Outlook Board World agricultural supply and demand estimates, 408-14.http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/waobr/view.asp?f=wasde-bbGoogle Scholar On the basis of these data, even a novice would find it scientifically challenging to maintain that the sucrose content of the human diet is causally related to the rise in obesity. By categorising all free sugars as the same, Mann ignores the importance of assessing dietary sugars and their relation to physiological responses and possible health outcomes on an individual basis, as has been done with fatty acids. When so differentiated, inherent physiological differences among the various dietary sugars become discernible.5Bantle JP Raatz SK Thomas W Georgopoulos A Effects of dietary fructose on plasma lipids in healthy subjects.Am J Clin Nutr. 2000; 72: 1128-1134PubMed Google Scholar We have little hope of successfully reversing the worldwide epidemic of obesity as long as all free sugars continue to be regarded as identical and simplistically related causally to adverse health outcomes such as excess weight. The data presented here should be cause for careful reconsideration of any policy statement or action that includes sucrose as a causative factor in the worldwide epidemic of obesity. By Mann's own admission, no such body of reproducible data supporting this viewpoint exists. Free sugars and human healthAuthor's reply Full-Text PDF