How many people out there have a sweet tooth or two please raise your hand right now? By the way I am raising my hand right now because I am human just like anybody else and I love my redvines late a night once a while. I have a serious sweet tooth especially late at night when I am watching television or working on a project or something.

There is so much conflicting information out there on the internet in regards to if you consume too much sugary treats or if you drink too much soft drinks that it can lead to serious weight gain? Too many people want to point to sugar as the issue to obesity and being overweight in this country. Is that really true or is that just a myth and also how much sugar is advisable per day that you can consume without it interrupting your fat loss goals?

Over the past several years when I read articles in magazines and even in the internet there is a lot of contradictory information about how consuming too much sugar or too much soda will lead to weight gain as if the over consumption of fructose/sugar is the cause to extra weight gain in this country. It sounds logical to blame the issue on too much sugar as the very reason for so many Americans or so many people across the world that are overweight or obese. What if I told you that this isn’t true and that high fructose consumption isn’t the reason to obesity or weight gain.

If you look at the recent scientific facts and research most overweight and obesity issues are all derived from over consumption of too many calories per day meaning eating too much junk food daily. Consuming a high amount of calories per day on top of the majority of the calories being junk food is the cause of obesity and being overweight in this country.

There was a research study that was done at the University of Maryland called the Critical examination of high fructose corn syrup and weight gain that was done at The Center for Food, Nutrition and Agriculture Policy who conducted an expert panel to examine if there is a correlation of high fructose corn syrup and if it contributes to weight gain. The results of their controlled trials studies was this that they did not find any conclusive evidence between consuming high fructose, high fructose syrup and weight gain and their results stated it does not exist and that consuming high amounts of sugar will not make you gain any more weight.

Center for Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Policy, University of Maryland direct quote based on their scientific research, “Based on the currently available evidence, the expert panel concluded that HFCS does not appear to contribute to overweight and obesity any differently than do other energy sources”.

Nutrition Expert Alan Aragon was recently quoted in a Men’s Health article and he stated, “The research on fructose is usually conducted on sedentary people, which is where that 50 grams per day figure comes from. If you’re active, your body is better able to process sugar, so you may be able to eat more without any adverse effects”, Aragon says.

Aragon’s direct quote means that if you are a physically active person and I will use myself as an example that I could get away with consuming more sugar daily than the next person because I burn a high amount of calories per day based on my daily physical activity levels which are significantly much higher than the next person. My body can probably absorb it more than the person that doesn’t work-out all the time. That is why it is so important to work-out every day in case you have a very bad cheat day and your body can burn it off in quicker timeframe.

So now let’s answer this question one more time: Can consuming too much sugar or too much soda lead to fat gain? The answer is no the overconsumption of too many calories per day leads to extra weight gain not sugar.

But I hope this doesn’t make you feel comfortable enough to stuff your body with extra chocolate tonight or drown yourself with liters of soda. If you are going to chocolate, sugary cake or any soda just consume it within moderation as anything else you would eat. Everything in regards to eating food whether it is bad or good should always be in moderation. The all or nothing approach is never conducive to any fitness enthusiast that wants to be healthy physiologically and physically. Stay within moderation within everything you eat folks and you will be ok.

 

Sources:

A critical examination of the evidence relating high fructose corn syrup and weight gain.

Forshee RA, Storey ML, Allison DB, Glinsmann WH, Hein GL, Lineback DR, Miller SA, Nicklas TA, Weaver GA, White JS.

Center for Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Policy, University of Maryland – College Park, 1122 Patapsco Building, College Park, MD, USA.