High fructose corn syrup

Studies in people

• Open question

  Weight and blood sugar³

  Scientists do not yet know whether high fructose corn syrup causes obesity or metabolic problems in people.

• No harm found

  Blood sugar and fats⁴

  Studies found no difference between high fructose corn syrup and table sugar for blood sugar, fats, or appetite.

• Open question

  Obesity cause⁵

  High fructose corn syrup is not the unique cause of obesity, and use has fallen while obesity rates keep rising.

• Open question

  Sweetener health effects⁶

  High fructose corn syrup seems to affect the body much like regular sugar does, but scientists do not yet know for sure.

• Open question

  Weight and calories⁷

  High fructose corn syrup is similar to sugar, and both add calories that matter for weight.

• Open question

  Breast milk sugar⁹

  In breastfeeding women, drinking a high fructose corn syrup beverage raised fructose in breast milk for up to five hours.

• Concern

  Asthma risk in adults¹⁰

  In adults, drinking high fructose corn syrup sodas, fruit drinks and apple juice was linked to more asthma.

• Open question

  Weight gain and obesity¹¹

  High fructose corn syrup use rose sharply as obesity rose, but whether it causes weight gain is not proven.

• Open question

  Childhood obesity¹²

  Research on whether high fructose corn syrup drinks cause childhood obesity is mixed, so scientists do not yet know.

• Open question

  Weight gain and appetite¹³

  Scientists do not yet know whether high fructose corn syrup affects weight over the long term.

• Open question

  Sugar metabolism questions¹⁴

  High fructose corn syrup and sucrose seem to affect the body the same way, though some heart and liver questions remain unsettled.

• Concern

  Sugary drinks and disease¹⁵

  Sugary soft drinks with high fructose corn syrup are linked to obesity, diabetes, fatty liver and gout.

• Concern

  Blood fats after meals¹⁶

  High fructose corn syrup and sucrose raised blood fats after meals as much as pure fructose did.

• Concern

  Type 2 diabetes risk¹⁷

  Countries where high fructose corn syrup is more available have more type 2 diabetes, even after accounting for obesity.

• Concern

  Blood sodium levels¹⁸

  People who drank more high fructose corn syrup soft drinks tended to have higher sodium levels in their blood.

• Concern

  Hunger after overeating¹⁹

  In people, eating lots of high fructose corn syrup left them hungrier the next morning than whole-wheat carbs did.

• Concern

  Liver fat and blood sugar control²⁰

  In people, two weeks of high fructose corn syrup drinks raised liver fat and lowered insulin sensitivity.

• Concern

  Kidney blood flow²¹

  In healthy adults, drinking a high fructose corn syrup soft drink raised resistance in kidney blood vessels.

• Concern

  Sugary drinks and arthritis²²

  Young adults who often drank high fructose corn syrup sweet drinks were more likely to report arthritis.

• Concern

  Lung health in adults²³

  Adults who drank high fructose corn syrup soft drinks often were more likely to report chronic bronchitis.

• Concern

  Liver insulin sensitivity²⁴

  In young adults, fructose-sweetened drinks and the fructose in high fructose corn syrup affected liver insulin sensitivity more than glucose did.

• Concern

  Childhood asthma risk²⁵

  Toddlers who drank more juice and sugary drinks had higher asthma rates, and high fructose corn syrup may be why.

Animal and lab studies only

• Concern

  Male fertility³⁰

  In animal studies, long-term high fructose corn syrup lowered sperm count and caused testicle changes.

• Concern

  Stress hormone in babies³¹

  In animal studies, mothers given high fructose corn syrup had pups with higher stress hormone levels.

• Concern

  Brain development in young rats³²

  In young rats, high fructose corn syrup lowered a brain growth protein, but only during childhood and teen years.

• Concern

  Tooth decay³³

  In lab studies, high fructose corn syrup softened teeth more than sugar did.

Study type not stated

• Concern

  Metabolic syndrome risk²⁷

  High fructose corn syrup is linked to belly fat, fatty liver and insulin problems, sometimes without weight gain.

• Concern

  Cancer risk from sweeteners²⁸

  High fructose corn syrup is linked to higher risk of colorectal and pancreatic cancers, though studies disagree.

How it’s made and used

• Added sugar in the diet⁸

  High fructose corn syrup made up about 8% of Americans' daily calories by 2004, mostly from soft drinks.

• Sugar content in soda²⁶

  High fructose corn syrup in sodas matched the fructose levels labels and industry standards say they should have.

• Sugar levels in drinks²⁹

  Drinks made with high fructose corn syrup had about 50% more fructose than glucose.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.