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 .
Changes in Intake of Fruits and Vegetables and Weight Change in United States Men and Women Followed for Up to 24 Years: Analysis from Three Prospective Cohort Studies
Background Current dietary guidelines recommend eating a variety of fruits and vegetables . However , based on nutrient composition , some particular fruits and vegetables may be more or less beneficial for maintaining or achieving a healthy weight . We hypothesized that greater consumption of fruits and vegetables with a higher fiber content or lower glycemic load would be more strongly associated with a healthy weight . Methods and Findings We examined the association between change in intake of specific fruits and vegetables and change in weight in three large , prospect i ve cohorts of 133,468 United States men and women . From 1986 to 2010 , these associations were examined within multiple 4-y time intervals , adjusting for simultaneous changes in other lifestyle factors , including other aspects of diet , smoking status , and physical activity . Results were combined using a r and om effects meta- analysis . Increased intake of fruits was inversely associated with 4-y weight change : total fruits -0.53 lb per daily serving ( 95 % CI -0.61 , -0.44 ) , berries -1.11 lb ( 95 % CI -1.45 , -0.78 ) , and apples/pears -1.24 lb ( 95 % CI -1.62 , -0.86 ) . Increased intake of several vegetables was also inversely associated with weight change : total vegetables -0.25 lb per daily serving ( 95 % CI -0.35 , -0.14 ) , tofu/soy -2.47 lb ( 95 % CI , -3.09 to -1.85 lb ) and cauliflower -1.37 lb ( 95 % CI -2.27 , -0.47 ) . On the other h and , increased intake of starchy vegetables , including corn , peas , and potatoes , was associated with weight gain . Vegetables having both higher fiber and lower glycemic load were more strongly inversely associated with weight change compared with lower-fiber , higher-glycemic-load vegetables ( p < 0.0001 ) . Despite the measurement of key confounders in our analyses , the potential for residual confounding can not be ruled out , and although our food frequency question naire specified portion size , the assessment of diet using any method will have measurement error . Conclusions Increased consumption of fruits and non-starchy vegetables is inversely associated with weight change , with important differences by type suggesting that other characteristics of these foods influence the magnitude of their association with weight change
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 .