High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar are both diet demons — one is not better than the other in your weight-loss efforts, a study published in Nutritional Journal concludes.
The study followed 247 overweight or obese participants who consumed either sugar or HFCS as part of a reduced-calorie diet. The key to overall weight loss was slashing total calories, not replacing sugar with HFCS or vice versa, found researchers at the University of Central Florida. There was no evidence that HFCS prevented weight loss any more than sugar calories.
“Our research debunks the vilification of high-fructose corn syrup in the diet,” said James M. Rippe, M.D., an advisor to the Corn Refiners Association and the study’s lead author in a release. “The results show that equally reduced-calorie diets caused similar weight loss regardless of the type or amount of added sugars. This lends further support to findings by our research group and others that table sugar and HFCS are metabolically equivalent.”