High fructose corn syrup intake trends in the United States over decades
What it found
Americans took in more calories from high fructose corn syrup and added sugar over time, with a small drop between 2000 and 2004.
The data came from national diet surveys of people in the US.
What they found
Studies in people
Overall intake trends
By 2004, high fructose corn syrup made up about 8% of total daily calories for Americans. Total added sugar provided 377 kcal per person per day, or 17% of all calories.
Biggest drink sources
Sodas and fruit-flavored drinks were the largest sources of high fructose corn syrup in 2004. Sodas contributed 158 kcal per person per day and fruit drinks added 40 kcal per person per day.
Heavy consumers take more
Among the top 20% of consumers, added sugar intake reached 896 kcal per person per day in 2004. High fructose corn syrup alone provided 505 kcal per person per day for this group.
Food sources matter too
Desserts like cakes and cookies were the biggest food source of high fructose corn syrup, providing 29 kcal per person per day by 2004. Cereals and breads each added about 2 kcal per person per day.
Other findings
HFCS replaced sugar
When introduced in the 1970s, high fructose corn syrup was less than 1% of available caloric sweeteners in the US. By 2004 it had grown to 42% of all caloric sweeteners available.
What the authors conclude
- They note that rising calories from high fructose corn syrup deserve attention, but overall trends in all added sweeteners should not be ignored.
- The authors point out that most of these sweeteners come from snacks and drinks rather than main meals.
How it was done
Past research mostly looked at sweetened drinks and ignored other sources of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup. The authors wanted to track long-term trends from both foods and drinks together.
They used national diet survey data from 1965 through 2004 covering tens of thousands of Americans aged 2 and older. They estimated how much high fructose corn syrup and added sugar people consumed from different food and drink groups over time.
What it can’t tell you
- This work tracked what people reported eating over time, so it cannot show whether high fructose corn syrup causes weight gain or disease.
- Because the amount of high fructose corn syrup in foods had to be estimated, the exact numbers may not be perfectly accurate.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIEHS NIH HHS; NCI NIH HHS; NIAAA NIH HHS; NICHD NIH HHS; NIDDK NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- University of North Carolina, USA
The paper
- Title
- High-fructose corn syrup: is this what's for dinner?
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Duffey KJ, Popkin BM (2008). High-fructose corn syrup: is this what's for dinner?. The American journal of clinical nutrition. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.25825CFree full textPubMed 19064537DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error