The highest level of evidence from systematic review s and meta-analyses of controlled trials has not shown that fructose-containing sugars behave any differently from other forms of digestible carbohydrates .
Fructose-containing sugars can only lead to weight gain and other unintended harms on cardiometabolic risk factors insofar as the excess calories they provide .
Prospect i ve cohort studies , which provide the strongest observational evidence , have shown an association between fructose-containing sugars and cardiometabolic risk including weight gain , cardiovascular disease outcomes and diabetes only when restricted to sugar-sweetened beverages and not for sugars from other sources .
In fact , sugar-sweetened beverages are a marker of an unhealthy lifestyle and their drinkers consume more calories , exercise less , smoke more and have a poor dietary pattern .
Fructose-containing sugars are a focus of attention as a public health target for their putative role in obesity and cardiometabolic disease including diabetes .
The fructose moiety is singled out to be the primary driver for the harms of sugars due to its unique endocrine signal and pathophysiological role .
However , this is only supported by ecological studies , animal models of overfeeding and select human intervention studies with supraphysiological doses or lack of control for energy .
Estimated Global, Regional, and National Disease Burdens Related to Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in 2010
Background — Sugar-sweetened beverages ( SSBs ) are consumed globally and contribute to adiposity . However , the worldwide impact of SSBs on burdens of adiposity-related cardiovascular diseases ( CVDs ) , cancers , and diabetes mellitus has not been assessed by nation , age , and sex . Methods and Results — We modeled global , regional , and national burdens of disease associated with SSB consumption by age/sex in 2010 . Data on SSB consumption levels were pooled from national dietary surveys worldwide . The effects of SSB intake on body mass index and diabetes mellitus , and of elevated body mass index on CVD , diabetes mellitus , and cancers were derived from large prospect i ve cohort pooling studies . Disease-specific mortality/morbidity data were obtained from Global Burden of Diseases , Injuries , and Risk Factors 2010 Study . We computed cause-specific population -attributable fractions for SSB consumption , which were multiplied by cause-specific mortality/morbidity to compute estimates of SSB-attributable death/disability . Analyses were done by country/age/sex ; uncertainties of all input data were propagated into final estimates . Worldwide , the model estimated 184 000 ( 95 % uncertainty interval , 161 000–208 000 ) deaths/y attributable to SSB consumption : 133 000 ( 126 000–139 000 ) from diabetes mellitus , 45 000 ( 26 000–61 000 ) from CVD , and 6450 ( 4300–8600 ) from cancers . Five percent of  SSB-related deaths occurred in low-income , 70.9 % in middle-income , and 24.1 % in high-income countries . Proportional mortality attributable to SSBs ranged from < 1 % in Japanese > 65 years if age to 30 % in Mexicans < 45 years of age . Among the 20 most populous countries , Mexico had largest absolute ( 405 deaths/million adults ) and proportional ( 12.1 % ) deaths from SSBs . A total of 8.5 ( 2.8 , 19.2 ) million disability-adjusted life years were related to SSB intake ( 4.5 % of diabetes mellitus – related disability-adjusted life years ) . Conclusions — SSBs are a single , modifiable component of diet that can impact preventable death/disability in adults in high- , middle- , and low-income countries , indicating an urgent need for strong global prevention programs
The highest level of evidence from systematic review s and meta-analyses of controlled trials has not shown that fructose-containing sugars behave any differently from other forms of digestible carbohydrates .
Fructose-containing sugars can only lead to weight gain and other unintended harms on cardiometabolic risk factors insofar as the excess calories they provide .
Prospect i ve cohort studies , which provide the strongest observational evidence , have shown an association between fructose-containing sugars and cardiometabolic risk including weight gain , cardiovascular disease outcomes and diabetes only when restricted to sugar-sweetened beverages and not for sugars from other sources .
In fact , sugar-sweetened beverages are a marker of an unhealthy lifestyle and their drinkers consume more calories , exercise less , smoke more and have a poor dietary pattern .
Fructose-containing sugars are a focus of attention as a public health target for their putative role in obesity and cardiometabolic disease including diabetes .
The fructose moiety is singled out to be the primary driver for the harms of sugars due to its unique endocrine signal and pathophysiological role .
However , this is only supported by ecological studies , animal models of overfeeding and select human intervention studies with supraphysiological doses or lack of control for energy .