Characteristics of randomised trials examining the effect of increasing intake of free sugars on measures of body fatness in adults
| Study | Methods | Participants | Diet | Outcomes | Study duration | Dose | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Control | |||||||
| Aeberli 201147 | Randomised crossover trial | 29 healthy normal weight men aged 20-50 years, living in and around Zurich, Switzerland | High sugars (fructose, glucose, or sucrose), providing 80 g/day | Moderate sugars (fructose or glucose), providing 40 g/day | Lipid and glucose metabolism (focusing on LDL particle size in particular), inflammatory markers, weight change | 3 weeks per treatment, 4 week washout between treatments | 80 g/day added sugars v 40 g/day. Difference of 6.6% TE | Study involved 6 treatments. Data were aggregated for the intake comparisons between moderate and high sugars groups |
| Brynes 200326 | Randomised crossover trial | 17 healthy middle aged men with one or more cardiac risk factors | High carbohydrate, high sucrose diet, providing additional 90 g/day of sucrose | High carbohydrate, high glycaemic index diet | Weight change, fasting lipids, postprandial glucose, insulin and lipids, HOMA insulin sensitivity | 24 days per treatment | 132 g/day v 46 g/day of sucrose. Difference of 14% TE | Energy intake was intended to be consistent between treatments |
| Marckmann 200032 | Randomised crossover trial | 20 post-obese adults; controls matched by age, height, and weight | Ad libitum, high sucrose diet | Ad libitum high starch diet | Weight change, change in fat mass | 2 weeks per treatment | 23% v 2.5% total energy sucrose. Difference of 20.5% TE | — |
| Poppitt 200234 | Randomised controlled trial | 28 overweight adults with three or more metabolic risk factors | Ad libitum, low fat, high simple carbohydrate diet | Ad libitum, low fat, high complex carbohydrate diet | Weight change, change in energy intake, waist circumference, BMI, lipids | 6 months | Increase in simple carbohydrate of 87 g/day v 2 g/day. Difference of 14% TE | 13 participants also included in the CARMEN study39 |
| Raben 200235 | Randomised controlled trial | 41 healthy overweight adults (BMI 25-30) aged 20-50 years | Ad libitum diet supplemented with sucrose containing foods and beverages providing 28% of total energy | Ad libitum diet supplemented with artificially sweetened foods and beverages | Dietary intake, weight, fat mass, fat free mass | 10 weeks | Increase of 105 g/day sucrose v decrease of 15 g/day. Difference of 23% TE | — |
| Reid 200738 | Randomised controlled dietary intervention | 133 normal weight women aged 20-55 years | Ad libitum diet with 1 L/day of sugar sweetened beverages | Ad libitum diet with 1 L/day of artificially sweetened beverages | Mood, weight change, dietary intake | 4 weeks | Sugar sweetened drinks provided 105 g/day of sucrose. Difference of about 20% TE | Weight change data extracted from figures in article |
| Reid 201037 | Randomised controlled dietary intervention | 53 overweight women (BMI 25-30) aged 20-55 years | Ad libitum diet with 1 L/day of sugar sweetened beverages | Ad libitum diet with 1 L/day of artificially sweetened beverages | Mood, weight change, dietary intake | 4 weeks | Sugar sweetened drinks provided 105 g/day of sucrose. Difference of about 20% TE | Weight change data extracted from figures in article |
| Szanto 196943 | Crossover trial | 19 apparently healthy men | High sucrose diet (substituting sucrose for starch) | Low sucrose diet (10 g/day) | Glycaemic responses, insulin responses, lipids, weight | 2 weeks per treatment, 2 week washouts | 438 g/day v 10 g/day of sucrose. Difference of >20% TE | 2 week washout sufficient to restore weight to baseline values |
| Tordoff 199044 | Randomised crossover trial | 30 healthy, normal weight adults | Ad libitum diet supplemented with 1135 g/day of HFCS-sweetened soda | Ad libitum diet supplemented with 1135 g/day of aspartame sweetened soda | Dietary intake, weight, height, dietary restraint | 3 weeks per treatment | Drinks provided 133 g/day v 1 g/day high fructose corn syrup. Difference of 18% TE | — |
| Werner 198445 | Randomised crossover trial | 12 adults with radiolucent gallstones and bile supersaturated with cholesterol, but with normal liver function, insulin and glucose status | Ad libitum, high sucrose (>100g/day), fibre depleted diet | Ad libitum, low sucrose, fibre depleted diet | Weight, dietary intakes, bile, cholesterol saturation index, bilary secretion rates, bile acid pool, bilary lipids, blood lipids, fasting plasma glucose | 6 weeks per treatment | 112 g/day v 16 g/day of refined sugar. Difference of 18% TE | — |
HFCS=high fructose corn syrup; LDL=low density lipoprotein; HOMA=homeostasis model assessment for insulin sensitivity; TE=total energy intake.