Fructose is of interest because evidence links high consumption to metabolic syndrome and obesity. Increases in fructose consumption are illustrated by information from history and anthropology. In 1000 AD, sucrose (50% fructose) consumption was very low and few Europeans were even aware of the existence of sugar. However, 900 years later in 1900, sugar made up almost 20% of the energy in the diet of the English. More recent data shows that in 1960 in the United states, sucrose made up over 90% of total sweeteners. However, by 1985 corn sweetener consumption had increased to make up over 50% of total sweeteners. The corn sweeteners increase in the early 1970s was based on glucose, however from 1974 to 1985 there was a switch to the use of fructose based corn syrup such that by 1985 fructose made up 35% of total sweeteners.
Research1 has analysed the consumption of fructose in the United States from 1977 to 2004. The analysis, conducted with the use of food surveys and computer software showed that since 1978, mean daily intakes of added fructose (in non-alcoholic soft drinks and grain products) have increased in all genders and all age groups. In contrast, during this time naturally occurring fructose consumption (in fruit juices and fruit products) has decreased. From 1977 to 2004, total fructose intake as a percentage of energy intake and carbohydrate intake increased by 1.0 and 1.2%, respectively. However, at the same time daily energy intakes and daily carbohydrate intakes increased 18 and 41%, respectively. Sweetener availability increased in the United states from 1978 to 2003 by 16.6% (151 g/d to 175 g/d) with high fructose corn syrup increasing 60.8% during this time period.
The pattern of fructose consumption from 1974 to 1980 to 1985 has shown a repeated tripling from 4 to 12 to 36% of total sweeteners. This pattern mirrors rises in the total reported cases of obesity in the United States. Fructose is clearly not the only factor that has lead to increases in the rates of obesity in Western nations because obesity is multifactorial in aetiology. However, fructose is clearly implicated in the development of metabolic syndrome, a condition characterised by insulin resistance and abdominal weight gain. Factors such as increase expendable income, a larger diversity of food, less physical labour and increased energy consumption have likely contributed to the rise in obesity cases. However, research has shown that these factors alone do not result in weight gain in healthy individuals unless accompanied by a metabolic dysfunction, perhaps caused by high fructose consumption.
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