All sugars are not broken down in the body in the same way. Research from Rutgers University in 2007 showed that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the most common sweetener in sugary drinks and processed foods, might contribute to the nation’s increase in type 2 diabetes.
High-fructose corn syrup does not occur naturally in any foods; it was created in the 1970s as an inexpensive substitute for sugar. Examining the label of many snacks and drinks will reveal HFCS as one of the first few ingredients—which indicates that it is present in greater proportion than ingredients farther down the list.
The biggest health concern is that HFCS contains high levels of highly reactive carbonyls. Chemicals with carbonyl groups are unstable and therefore likely to react with other molecules. Carbonyls, which are present in high levels in the blood of diabetics, are believed to cause tissue damage. Sugar is a more stable molecule and therefore does not produce carbonyls. Limiting the intake of sweeteners is always optimal; when offering sweetened food, parents should check labels and opt for sugar instead of HFCS.
Another disadvantage of having too much sugar in the bloodstream is repeated inflammation. Inflammation in the body is generally associated with infection. The red area around a cut is inflammation, caused by the rush of immune cells combating harmful bacteria that is trying to get into the body. The reddened area will eventually heal and then the redness goes away. A limited amount of inflammation such as this is unlikely to do damage but chronic inflammation can eventually cause tissue damage. Chronic indicates that the inflammation is persistent and ongoing. Too much glucose in the bloodstream can cause inflammation in the body, specifically in the heart.
The degree to which a person must be overweight to suffer from these obesity-related problems is debatable. Clearly those closer to the morbidly obese range have a much greater chance of developing these health problems than someone who has a mere 20 or 30 pounds to lose. A hotly debated 2007 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, showed that people with a BMI between 25 and 30, which is considered overweight but not obese, have a lower death rate than people in the so-called normal, underweight, or obese weight ranges.2 The researchers examined death records for 37,000 adults, along with age and weight to determine an individual’s BMI. These records were then used to track trends in death rates with BMI. This study also found that being overweight did not increase the risk of dying from heart disease or cancer. Perhaps most surprisingly, the data indicated that the overweight were less likely die from other diseases such as chronic respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s, infections, and Parkinson’s. The researchers theorized that perhaps this excess fat served as an extra reserve during periods of illness. This study challenges the traditional notion that being overweight is unhealthy and leads to obesity-related health problems. The obese did not fare as well in this study, however. When researchers looked at the death records of people with BMIs ranking them as obese, they found that this group was at a higher risk for the diseases commonly associated with obesity.
This study has outraged many medical professionals such as Walter Willett, MD, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, who believes the findings should be completely disregarded. He argues that other studies have shown that being overweight can shorten one’s life. Other critics say that the study does not address quality of life. These overweight individuals may not have died from their excess weight, but they may have suffered along the way, with osteoarthritis, for example. Most experts agree that tracking the impact of excess weight over a person’s lifetime is difficult, and that it is particularly difficult to determine at which point certain illnesses or even death can be attributed to excess weight. It is important to realize that this is the first time in history that humankind has had such a prevalence of overweight and obese individuals, and therefore there is no clear data of exactly how this health factor affects death rates.
Source: "Drugs The Straight Facts: Weight-Loss Drugs," Chelsea House, 2009
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