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  • Letter to the Editor
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Fructose as cause of metabolic syndrome is poorly supported

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, page 748 (2011)Cite this article

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In a recent paper, Perez-Pozo et al.1 concluded that high doses of fructose raise blood pressure and cause features of metabolic syndrome, and that fructose may therefore have a role in the current epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Their conclusion is poorly supported and should not be used to inform the public debate on fructose for three reasons.

First, the study is weakened through lack of a rigorous double-blind experimental design. That investigators and staff knew throughout the study which participants were receiving allopurinol makes it impossible to rule out the prospect of subjective bias from experimental subjects, analysts and study principals.

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References

  1. Perez-Pozo SE, Schold J, Nakagawa T, Sanchez-Lozada LG, Johnson RJ, Lillo JL . Excessive fructose intake induces the features of metabolic syndrome in healthy adult men: role of uric acid in the hypertensive response. Int J Obes (Lond) 2010; 34: 454–461.

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  2. Marriott BP, Cole N, Lee E . National estimates of dietary fructose intake increased from 1977 to 2004 in the United States. J Nutr 2009; 139: 1228S–1235S.

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  1. White Technical Research, Argenta, IL, USA

    J S White

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  1. J S White
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Correspondence to J S White.

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Competing interests

The author is a consultant to the food and beverage industry in the area of nutritive (caloric) sweeteners. He has advised research institutes, food industry councils, trade organizations, national health associations, governmental agencies and individual companies.

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White, J. Fructose as cause of metabolic syndrome is poorly supported. Int J Obes 35, 748 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.170

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