Fructose-sweetened drinks increase heart disease risk for obese adults

Washington, Feb 13 (ANI): Obese adults who drink fructose-sweetened drinks may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Monell Centre have found that obese people who drink fructose-sweetened beverages with their meals have increased levels of triglycerides, which are known to be predictors of cardiovascular disease.

During the study, lead researcher Dr. Karen L. Teff, a metabolic physiologist, examined 17 obese men and women.

Each subject was admitted two times to the Clinical and Translational Research Centre at the University of Pennsylvania.

On each admission, the subjects were given identical meals, and blood was collected from an intravenous catheter over a 24-hour period.

Beverages were sweetened with glucose during one admission, and with fructose during the other.

The study revealed that blood triglyceride levels were higher when subjects drank fructose-sweetened beverages with their meals, compared to when they drank glucose-sweetened beverages

The total amount of triglycerides over a 24-hour period was almost 200 percent higher when the subjects drank fructose-sweetened beverages.

"Fructose can cause even greater elevations of triglyceride levels in obese insulin-resistant individuals, worsening their metabolic profiles and further increasing their risk for diabetes and heart disease," said Teff.

The study has been published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. (ANI)