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Can Fructose Affect My Weight?
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By Beth Howard
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MediZine's Healthy Living Spring 2009
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Obesity expert Louis J. Aronne, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City talks about the relationship of fructose, a type of sugar, to weight gain.
Fructose is a type of sugar found in foods such as fruit. It is also added to sodas, juice blends, salad dressings, pasta sauce and other foods, primarily in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS is about half fructose and half glucose (another type of sugar).
Unlike glucose, fructose may increase appetite. And research indicates that that when it’s eaten before or with fat, that fat is more likely to be stored than burned. Consuming HFCS appears to cause resistance to leptin, a hormone that tells your brain how much fat is stored and signals the feeling of fullness. The problem is, Americans are consuming more of such sugars, especially in sweetened beverages.
No. Like HFCS, table sugar is about half fructose and half glucose. Some studies have found it has similar effects on the body.
If you drink soda or juice, have only an 8-ounce glass with ice in it. And limit intake of foods that have “high-fructose corn syrup” on the label.
It’s an undisputed truth: Adults who skimp on sleep are more likely to put on extra weight. But what about children?
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland tested the
relationship between sleep and weight status among 819 children aged 8 to 11. The analysis took into account a wide variety of factors that might have contributed to some kids’ obesity, but none negated the link to lack of
sleep. In fact, each one-hour reduction in sleep was associated with a
40 percent increase in a child’s risk for obesity. |
Contemplating weight-loss surgery? Here’s news about less-invasive
procedures. First, just for women: Because obese people are more likely to form a hernia at
the site of abdominal incisions, surgeons at the University of
California, San Diego, are now performing gastrectomies in which part
of the stomach is removed through the vagina.
(The operation can also be done through a patient’s mouth or another
natural orifice, helping reduce pain, ease recovery and minimize
scarring.) Another revolutionary procedure, transoral gastroplasty
(TOGA), involves passing flexible stapling devices through the mouth
into the stomach to limit the amount of food that can be eaten in one
sitting.
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