Fructose sweeteners may lead to weight gain

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

New research suggests that consuming beverages sweetened with fructose can be a big contributor to increase of body fat.
Many foods and beverages contain high fructose corn syrup (HFS) - check the label - which is a mixture of sucrose and fructose. The latter is the sugar found naturally in fruits and honey. It's long been suspected that HFS can lead to weight gain. Now researchers at the University of Cincinnati confirm this view.

They used magnetic resonance imaging to monitor body fat in mice. They found that animals given fructose-sweetened water gained more body fat than those who did not. This was despite the fact that they tended to eat less and certainly did not consume more calories. Therefore the researchers believe that the calorie content of HFS containing food is not the main issue leading to weight gain. Such products are, perhaps, best avoided if you are trying to keep to a healthy weight.

Source
Obesity Research July 2005

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