Studies Show HFCS Isn’t the Obesity Boogie Man

While it may be easier to blame the pounds that have crept around our midsections over the past few winters on a single demon-food, a comprehensive review of research presented by James M. Rippe, MD, at the American Society of Hypertension Annual Meeting shows yet again that the way the human body metabolizes high fructose corn syrup and table sugar is nearly identical.

More importantly, he concluded that there is no evidence that HFCS has a different impact on risk factors for chronic disease.  Rippe, the founder and director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute and professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida, went so far as to bash popular propaganda in the face by stating consuming HFCS instead of table sugar is no more likely to make someone obese or to make it more difficult for them to lose weight.

So why are we, as a society, becoming so fat?  Is it inactivity? A sedentary lifestyle? Mindless snacking?  If you ask someone who is actually shocked by Rippe’s results, they might answer that the increased usage of sweetener is to blame.  They may even go on to continue pinning the tail on the HFCS piñata by deducing that the supposed sweetener glut foisted upon the American public results directly from the affordability of HFCS.

Again, Dr. Rippe’s research proves the bitter HFCS bashers wrong.  Yes, in the past three decades the average  American went from consuming 2,200 to 2,700 calories per day – a 22 percent jump.  Since just 1999, the average calories from sweetener consumed has dropped 10 percent from 500 to 450.

So what are we eating? Since 1999, average fat consumption has spiked.

Instead of blaming fat though, let’s take a more holistic view of obesity in our country.  Let’s admit that it takes a variety of factors to get us on the last loop of our collective belt and realize that only through addressing these issues will we get back into our skinny jeans.  It may take restraint, will power and personal responsibility, but only by looking at our lifestyles in a healthy way can we improve our overall health.

It is like mom said.  There is no boogie man.  What blame throwers don’t want to recognize is the culprits that lie within their heads, not their mouths.