We conclude based on high quality evidence from r and omized controlled trials ( RCT ) , systematic review s and meta-analyses of cohort studies that singling out added sugars as unique culprits for metabolically based diseases such as obesity , diabetes and cardiovascular disease appears inconsistent with modern , high quality evidence and is very unlikely to yield health benefits .
While it is prudent to consume added sugars in moderation , the reduction of these components of the diet without other reductions of caloric sources seems unlikely to achieve any meaningful benefit
Added sugars are a controversial and hotly debated topic .
Consumption of added sugars has been implicated in increased risk of a variety of chronic diseases including obesity , cardiovascular disease , diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease ( NAFLD ) as well as cognitive decline and even some cancers .
Support for these putative associations has been challenged , however , on a variety of fronts .
The purpose of the current review is to summarize high impact evidence including systematic review s , meta-analyses , and r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) , in an attempt to provide an overview of current evidence related to added sugars and health considerations .
This paper is an extension of a symposium held at the Experimental Biology 2015 conference entitled " Sweeteners and Health : Current Underst and ings , Controversies , Recent Research Findings and Directions for Future Research " .
Added sugar intake and cardiovascular diseases mortality among US adults.
IMPORTANCE Epidemiologic studies have suggested that higher intake of added sugar is associated with cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) risk factors . Few prospect i ve studies have examined the association of added sugar intake with CVD mortality . OBJECTIVE To examine time trends of added sugar consumption as percentage of daily calories in the United States and investigate the association of this consumption with CVD mortality . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PARTICIPANTS National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES , 1988 - 1994 [ III ] , 1999 - 2004 , and 2005 - 2010 [ n = 31,147 ] ) for the time trend analysis and NHANES III Linked Mortality cohort ( 1988 - 2006 [ n = 11 733 ] ) , a prospect i ve cohort of a nationally representative sample of US adults for the association study . MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Cardiovascular disease mortality . RESULTS Among US adults , the adjusted mean percentage of daily calories from added sugar  increased from 15.7 % ( 95 % CI , 15.0%-16.4 % ) in 1988 - 1994 to 16.8 % ( 16.0%-17.7 % ; P = .02 ) in 1999 - 2004 and decreased to 14.9 % ( 14.2%-15.5 % ; P < .001 ) in 2005 - 2010 . Most adults consumed 10 % or more of calories from added sugar ( 71.4 % ) and approximately 10 % consumed 25 % or more in 2005 - 2010 . During a median follow-up period of 14.6 years , we documented 831 CVD deaths during 163,039 person-years . Age- , sex- , and race/ethnicity-adjusted hazard ratios ( HRs ) of CVD mortality across quintiles of the percentage of daily calories consumed from added sugar were 1.00 ( reference ) , 1.09 ( 95 % CI , 1.05 - 1.13 ) , 1.23 ( 1.12 - 1.34 ) , 1.49 ( 1.24 - 1.78 ) , and 2.43 ( 1.63 - 3.62 ; P < .001 ) , respectively . After additional adjustment for sociodemographic , behavioral , and clinical characteristics , HRs were 1.00 ( reference ) , 1.07 ( 1.02 - 1.12 ) , 1.18 ( 1.06 - 1.31 ) , 1.38 ( 1.11 - 1.70 ) , and 2.03 ( 1.26 - 3.27 ; P = .004 ) , respectively . Adjusted HRs were 1.30 ( 95 % CI , 1.09 - 1.55 ) and 2.75 ( 1.40 - 5.42 ; P = .004 ) , respectively , comparing participants who consumed 10.0 % to 24.9 % or 25.0 % or more calories from added sugar with those who consumed less than 10.0 % of calories from added sugar . These findings were largely consistent across age group , sex , race/ethnicity ( except among non-Hispanic blacks ) , educational attainment , physical activity , health eating index , and body mass index . CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Most US adults consume more added sugar than is recommended for a healthy diet . We observed a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for CVD mortality
We conclude based on high quality evidence from r and omized controlled trials ( RCT ) , systematic review s and meta-analyses of cohort studies that singling out added sugars as unique culprits for metabolically based diseases such as obesity , diabetes and cardiovascular disease appears inconsistent with modern , high quality evidence and is very unlikely to yield health benefits .
While it is prudent to consume added sugars in moderation , the reduction of these components of the diet without other reductions of caloric sources seems unlikely to achieve any meaningful benefit
Added sugars are a controversial and hotly debated topic .
Consumption of added sugars has been implicated in increased risk of a variety of chronic diseases including obesity , cardiovascular disease , diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease ( NAFLD ) as well as cognitive decline and even some cancers .
Support for these putative associations has been challenged , however , on a variety of fronts .
The purpose of the current review is to summarize high impact evidence including systematic review s , meta-analyses , and r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) , in an attempt to provide an overview of current evidence related to added sugars and health considerations .
This paper is an extension of a symposium held at the Experimental Biology 2015 conference entitled " Sweeteners and Health : Current Underst and ings , Controversies , Recent Research Findings and Directions for Future Research " .