High fructose corn syrup drinks, liver fat and insulin sensitivity
What it found
In young adults, drinking more high fructose corn syrup sweetened beverages for two weeks was linked to more liver fat and lower insulin sensitivity, in a dose-dependent pattern.
The study was in people.
What they found
Studies in people
Liver fat
Liver fat increased in a dose-dependent way with higher high fructose corn syrup intake. The group consuming 25% of energy needs from high fructose corn syrup had a significant increase in liver fat compared with baseline.
Insulin sensitivity
Measures of insulin sensitivity decreased in a dose-dependent way. The 25% group had significant drops in two insulin sensitivity indices compared with baseline and compared with the aspartame group.
Blood sugar and insulin after meals
Blood sugar and insulin responses during glucose tolerance tests increased in a dose-dependent way. The 17.5% and 25% groups had higher blood sugar responses, and the 25% group had higher insulin responses, compared with the aspartame group.
Fasting measures
Fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and a measure of insulin resistance called HOMA-IR were not significantly affected by high fructose corn syrup dose or group.
Post-meal lactate
Post-meal lactate levels increased significantly in the 10%, 17.5%, and 25% groups compared with baseline and compared with the aspartame group.
Mediation analysis
The analysis suggested that changes in apoCIII, uric acid, post-meal glucose, and body weight partially explained the effect of high fructose corn syrup dose on liver fat. Post-meal lactate partially explained the effect on one measure of insulin sensitivity.
What the authors conclude
“This study demonstrates that two weeks of consumption of HFCS-sweetened beverages providing 10, 17.5, or 25% Ereq results in dose-dependent increases in hepatic lipid content and dose-dependent decreases in insulin sensitivity in young men and women.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that two weeks of consuming high fructose corn syrup sweetened beverages at 10, 17.5, or 25% of energy needs results in dose-dependent increases in liver fat and dose-dependent decreases in insulin sensitivity in young men and women.
- They say these results add to the evidence that increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages raises risk for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.
How it was done
The authors wanted to test whether two weeks of high fructose corn syrup sweetened beverages would cause dose-dependent increases in liver fat and decreases in insulin sensitivity, which are involved in heart and metabolic diseases.
85 young adults (18-40 years, BMI 18-35) drank three sweetened beverages per day providing 0%, 10%, 17.5%, or 25% of their daily energy needs from high fructose corn syrup for 15 days. Liver fat was measured by MRI and insulin sensitivity by oral glucose tolerance tests at baseline and after the intervention.
What it can’t tell you
- The study was not randomized, so the groups may have differed in ways that affected the results.
- During the 12 outpatient days, participants ate their usual diets, so the total amount of sugar consumed during that period cannot be accurately measured.
- The intervention lasted only two weeks, so it cannot show what happens over longer periods.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIDDK NIH HHS; NCRR NIH HHS; NHLBI NIH HHS; NICHD NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- V.M. serves in the Advisory board of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. M.I.G. serves as Scientific Advisor to Yumi infant food and receives royalties for Sugarproof published by Penguin Random House. C.S. reports grants from GE, Siemens, Philips, Bayer, Foundation of NIH, Gilead, and Pfizer (grant is to UW-Madison; UCSD is a subcontract to UW-Madison); personal consultation fees from Blade, Boehringer, and Epigenomics; consultation under the auspices of the University to AMRA, BMS, Exact Sciences, GE Digital, IBM-Watson, and Pfizer; lab service agreements from Enanta, Gilead, ICON, Intercept, Nusirt, Shire, Synageva, Takeda; royalties from Wolters Kluwer for educational material outside the submitted work; honoraria to the institution from Medscape for educational material outside the submitted work; ownership of stock options in Livivos; unpaid position in advisory board to Quantix Bio. All other authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
- Authors work at
- University of California-Davis, USA; Institute for Physiology and Biochemistry of Nutrition, Germany; California State University, USA
The paper
- Title
- The Dose-Response Effects of Consuming High Fructose Corn Syrup-Sweetened Beverages on Hepatic Lipid Content and Insulin Sensitivity in Young Adults
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Sigala DM, Hieronimus B, Medici V, et al (2022). The Dose-Response Effects of Consuming High Fructose Corn Syrup-Sweetened Beverages on Hepatic Lipid Content and Insulin Sensitivity in Young Adults. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu14081648Free full textPubMed 35458210DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error