Fructose corn syrup linked to type-2 diabetes

A sugary syrup used in food manufacture could partly account for rising rates of type-2 diabetes, according to scientists.

Countries that use large amounts of high fructose corn syrup in food manufacture have higher rates of the disease than those that consume little, a study has revealed.

Among 42 countries studied, the prevalence of diabetes in the two groups was 8% and 6.7% respectively, a difference of 20%.

“This research suggests that high fructose corn syrup can increase the risk of type-2 diabetes, which is one of the most common causes of death in the world today,” said Professor Stanley Ulijaszek of Oxford University, who co-led the study.

This syrup has a greater proportion of fructose sugar than sucrose, which contains an equal amount of glucose.

The syrup is widely used in processed foods because it acts as a sweetener and improves appearance, providing a consistent browning after oven heating.

Of the countries studied, the US had far and away the greatest consumption per head of the syrup, amounting to 25kg per year.

Hungary, Canada, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Argentina, Korea, Japan, and Mexico were also high consumers.

Germany, Poland, Greece, Portugal, Egypt, Finland, and Serbia were among the countries consuming the least.

Irish consumption was very low at less than 0.5kg per person per year, placing it alongside Britain, Australia, China, France, India, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and Uruguay.

The findings are reported in the journal Global Public Health.

Co-author Professor Michael Goran, from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in the US, said: “High fructose corn syrups appears to pose a serious public health problem on a global scale.

“The study adds to a growing body of scientific literature that indicates consumption of the syrups may result in negative health consequences distinct from and more deleterious than natural sugar.”