Commentary by Adrienne Youdim, MD
Obesity has received much attention in recent decades owing to its concomitant comorbid conditions. Obesity is associated with dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes among other cardiovascular risk factors. There is increasing awareness of the association of macronutrient intake and cardiovascular risk as it appears that not only food quantity affects heart health but so does food quality, ie, macronutrient content. Dietary guidelines have long promoted limits on saturated fat given its association with dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD).[1] More recently, trans fat has been implicated in its potential to promote heart disease, including acute myocardial infarction and possibly sudden cardiac death.[2] Attention is now increasingly given to added sugars and caloric sweeteners as their consumption has been on the rise in the United States. Caloric sweeteners are associated with negative health consequences including obesity and cardiac risk factors.[3]
In this study, Welsh et al demonstrated an association between consumption of added sugars and blood lipid levels using nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Greater intake of dietary sugars was associated with lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, higher triglycerides in both men and women, and higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in women. Interestingly but maybe not surprisingly, intake of dietary sugars was also associated with other unhealthy behaviors such as cigarette use, reduced physical activity, and weight gain. Collectively, these behaviors contribute to higher incidence of CVD risk as demonstrated in previous studies.
Given these results, it is appropriate that healthcare professionals recommend limitations on consumption of added sugars as recently recommended by the American Heart Association.[3] Also notable, consumption of caloric sweeteners was positively correlated with low-income status in this study. These findings implicate the need for multifaceted intervention to effectively implement limitations on caloric sweeteners, particularly in populations who may have limited access to nutritious foods. While further study is necessary to determine the clinical impact of these restrictions (ie, reduction in cardiac events), this study suggests that limitations in caloric sweeteners may mitigate dyslipidemia in at-risk populations with additional cardiovascular risk factors.