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Response to Dr White

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, pages 748–749 (2011)Cite this article

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The primary purpose of our study was to determine the role of uric acid in fructose-mediated metabolic effects, and as such our study compared the effects of fructose supplementation with or without allopurinol (a xanthine oxidase inhibitor). The reason we used high doses of fructose was to ensure the robust metabolic effects that would better allow distinction of the role of uric acid. Although the study was single blinded, the laboratory tests were performed by technicians blinded to the two groups and the blood pressure readings were made by an automated 24 h ambulatory blood pressure equipment. Hence, all results consisted of ‘hard’ data. An important finding in our study was the observation that fructose can raise blood pressure and that this was uric acid dependent. These studies are consistent with epidemiological studies1, 2 and a recent clinical trial.3

We agree that inclusion of a glucose control group would have been beneficial. However, a carefully performed clinical trial by Stanhope et al.4 has already documented that fructose, but not glucose, induces features of metabolic syndrome in humans. Experimental studies have also documented that fructose is distinct from glucose in its ability to induce metabolic syndrome and that this is independent of energy intake.5, 6 These data are consistent with a recent meta-analysis that found that high-fructose corn syrup-containing beverages increase the risk for metabolic syndrome and diabetes.7

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA

    S E Perez-Pozo, J Schold, T Nakagawa, L G Sanchez-Lozada, R J Johnson & J Lopez-Lillo

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  1. S E Perez-Pozo
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  2. J Schold
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  3. T Nakagawa
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  4. L G Sanchez-Lozada
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  5. R J Johnson
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  6. J Lopez-Lillo
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Correspondence to R J Johnson.

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Competing interests

Dr Johnson has a lay book, The Sugar Fix (Rodale, Simon and Schuster) and is also listed as an inventor on several patent applications related to blocking the effects of fructose to induce obesity and metabolic syndrome. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Perez-Pozo, S., Schold, J., Nakagawa, T. et al. Response to Dr White. Int J Obes 35, 748–749 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.197

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