METABOLIC AND BEHAVIORAL-EFFECTS OF A HIGH-SUCROSE DIET DURING WEIGHT-LOSS

In response to evidence linking obesity and high amounts of dietary fa t, the food industry has developed numerous reduced-fat and nonfat foo d items. These items frequently derive a relatively large percentage o f their energy from sugars and the effect of these sugars on weight re gulation is not well known. We studied the comparative effects of high - and low-sucrose, low-fat, hypoenergetic diets on a variety of metabo lic and behavioral indexes in a 6-wk weight-loss program. Both diets c ontained approximate to 4606 kJ energy/d with 11% of energy as fat, 19 % as protein, and 71% as carbohydrate. The high-sucrose diet contained 43% of the total daily energy intake as sucrose; the low-sucrose diet contained 4% of the total daily energy intake as sucrose. Twenty wome n aged 40.6 +/- 8.2 y ((x) over bar +/- SD) with a body mass index (in kg/m(2)) of 35.93 +/- 4.8 consumed the high-sucrose diet; 22 women ag ed 40.3 +/- 7.3 y with a body mass index of 34.93 +/- 4.4 consumed the low-sucrose diet. Mixed-design analysis of variance showed a main eff ect of time (P < 0.01), with both diet groups showing decreases in wei ght, blood pressure, resting energy expenditure, percentage body fat, free triiodothyronine (FT,), urinary norepinephrine, and plasma lipids . Small but significant interactions were found between group and time in total cholesterol (P = 0.009) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P = 0.01). Both groups showed decreases in depression, hunger, and nega tive mood, and increases in vigilance and positive mood with time (P < 0.01). Results showed that a high sucrose content in a hypoenergetic, low-fat diet did not adversely affect weight loss, metabolism, plasma lipids, or emotional affect.