9 July 2007

UCSF’s Lustig Discusses the Role of Fructose in Pediatric Obesity

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio National’s The Health Report, with Norman Swan, MD, features an interview with UCSF pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, who argues that the reason for the obesity epidemic is more than just the calories we eat and lack of exercise. Rather, it’s due to the wide use of fructose by food manufacturers in what Lustig terms the “toxic environment” of Western diets.

According to Lustig, fructose, a carbohydrate, acts biologically like a fat and a hepato-toxin that worsens obesity, especially in children. High fructose stimulates the appetite and increases overall food consumption.

Lustig is professor of clinical pediatrics and director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) Program at UCSF.

Related link:
The Obesity Epidemic
The Health Report, ABC (Australia) Radio National, July 9, 2007

Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH Clinic)

Source:
UCSF Today

 

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