Melanson · The American journal of clinical nutrition 2008 · narrative review · n=?

High-fructose corn syrup, energy intake, and appetite regulation.

Cited 81 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review without reported systematic methodology

PubMed 19064539 · doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.25825E · record verified 2026-08-29

What was done

This narrative review examined collective published data on associations between high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) consumption and energy balance, focusing specifically on appetite regulation, hormonal responses, and short-term energy intake compared with pure glucose and sucrose.

What was found

The abstract reports no numerical data. It notes that while pure fructose is associated with lower insulin and leptin secretion and less ghrelin suppression compared to pure glucose, these differences are not apparent when HFCS is compared directly to sucrose. Consequently, short-term appetite and energy intake do not differ between HFCS and sucrose.

Why it matters

It highlights that mechanistic differences between pure fructose and glucose cannot be directly extrapolated to HFCS when compared with sucrose, the more typical dietary sweetener.

Limits

The abstract provides no quantitative data, search criteria, or study counts. It is a narrative review rather than a systematic synthesis, and it notes that longer-term trials evaluating HFCS mechanisms and body weight outcomes were lacking.

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