its the sugar, folks

Pretty definitive study on the causes of diabetes just been published. The key point in the article is this:

“Each 150 kilocalories/person/day increase in total calorie availability related to a 0.1 percent rise in diabetes prevalence (not significant), whereas a 150 kilocalories/person/day rise in sugar availability (one 12-ounce can of soft drink) was associated with a 1.1 percent rise in diabetes prevalence.” Thus: for every 12 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverage introduced per person per day into a country’s food system, the rate of diabetes goes up 1 percent. (The study found no significant difference in results between those countries that rely more heavily on high-fructose corn syrup and those that rely primarily on cane sugar.)"

They go on to point out that obesity does not cause diabetes, the metabolic syndrome that is caused by sugar consumption does:

"And as Lustig lucidly wrote in “Fat Chance,” his compelling 2012 book that looked at the causes of our diet-induced health crisis, it’s become clear that obesity itself is not the cause of our dramatic upswing in chronic disease. Rather, it’s metabolic syndrome, which can strike those of “normal” weight as well as those who are obese. Metabolic syndrome is a result of insulin resistance, which appears to be a direct result of consumption of added sugars. This explains why there’s little argument from scientific quarters about the “obesity won’t kill you” studies; technically, they’re correct, because obesity is a marker for metabolic syndrome, not a cause."

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/its-the-sugar-folks/?smid=fb-share

Replies

  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,259 Member
    I was shocked, but pleased to read in Blood Sugar 101, that obesity is not the cause of diabetes. .....that people of normal weight can develop it as well, and do. I also concur about sugar intake. I ate a LOT of sugar for years before I was diagnosed. Obesity is only one possible symptom of diabetes, not the cause.
  • More on the study here :http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-lustig-md/sugar-toxic_b_2759564.html

    "Bottom line -- only changes in sugar availability explained changes in diabetes prevalence worldwide; nothing else mattered.

    Total caloric availability was unrelated to diabetes prevalence; for every extra 150 calories per day, diabetes prevalence rose by only 0.1 percent. But if those 150 calories per day happened to be a can of soda, diabetes prevalence rose 11-fold, by 1.1 percent (and Americans on average consume the added sugar equivalent of 2.5 cans of soda per day, so that's 2.75 percent!). And this effect of sugar was exclusive of obesity; controlling for body mass index did not negate the effect. Even more important, we showed that the change in sugar availability preceded the change in diabetes (that's cause, not effect); and we showed directionality -- those countries where sugar availability rose showed increases in diabetes, while those where sugar availability fell showed decreases in diabetes. This is a very robust signal, with little noise. While epidemiology can't prove scientific causation, the data allow for objective inference. Sugar drives diabetes worldwide, and unrelated to its calories.

    When you do the math, fully one-quarter of the world's diabetes is explained by sugar alone."