Energy Expenditure and Hormone Responses in Humans After Overeating High-Fructose Corn Syrup Versus Whole-Wheat Foods

Abstract

Objective: This study sought to understand how the dietary source of carbohydrates, either high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or complex carbohydrates, affects energy expenditure (EE) measures, appetitive sensations, and hormones during 24 hours of overfeeding.

Methods: Seventeen healthy participants with normal glucose regulation had 24-hour EE measures and fasting blood and 24-hour urine collection during four different 1-day diets, including an energy-balanced diet, fasting, and two 75% carbohydrate diets (5% fat) given at 200% of energy requirements with either HFCS or whole-wheat foods as the carbohydrate source. In eight volunteers, hunger was assessed with visual analog scales the morning after the diets.

Results: Compared with energy balance, 24-hour EE increased 12.8% ± 6.9% with carbohydrate overfeeding (P < 0.0001). No differences in 24-hour EE or macronutrient utilization were observed between the two high-carbohydrate diets; however, sleeping metabolic rate was higher after the HFCS diet (Δ = 35 ± 48 kcal [146 ± 200 kJ]; P = 0.01). Insulin, ghrelin, and triglycerides increased the morning after both overfeeding diets. Urinary cortisol concentrations (82.8 ± 35.9 vs. 107.6 ± 46.9 nmol/24 h; P = 0.01) and morning-after hunger scores (Δ = 2.4 ± 2.0 cm; P = 0.01) were higher with HFCS overfeeding.

Conclusions: The dietary carbohydrate source while overeating did not affect 24-hour EE, but HFCS overconsumption may predispose individuals to further overeating due to increased glucocorticoid release and increased hunger the following morning.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00523627.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Figures

Figure 1

Patterns of energy expenditure (A) and respiratory quotient (B) during 24-h fasting, energy balance, and high-carbohydrate overfeeding. The average energy expenditure (EE) and respiratory quotient (RQ) per minute are shown during 23 hours of energy balance (blue), fasting (turquoise) or 200% overfeeding with a diet containing 75% carbohydrate, the primary source of which was either whole-wheat flour (purple) or high-fructose corn syrup (green). Average sleeping metabolic rate was significantly higher during complex carbohydrate overfeeding (Δ=35 kcal (146 kJ); p=0.007) but there was no difference in overall 24hEE (p=0.5) (A) or 24h RQ (p=0.1) between the overfeeding diets. Participants entered the indirect calorimeter 1h after breakfast, served at 7:00. Arrows indicate meals. Participants were asked to be in bed from the 23:00 to at least the 05:30 in the chamber and to limit unnecessary activity throughout the 24 h period. The overfeeding trajectories differed from both the energy balance and fasting trajectories in analyses using a mixed model to control for repeated measures using a cubic model for time and a compound symmetry covariance structure (EE: p

Figure 2

Scores of Visual Analog Scale reporting feelings of hunger. Questions included “How hungry do you feel?” (black bars in Panel A, and Panel B), “How preoccupied are you with thoughts of food?” (striped bars in Panel A, and Panel C), “How strong is your desire to eat?” (white bars in Panel A, and Panel D), and “How much food would you like to eat?” (gray bars in Panel A, and Panel E) (n=8). $ p

Figure 3

Relationship between changes in FGF21 concentration following overfeeding diets and feelings of hunger. Open circles denote the high-fructose corn syrup overfeeding diet while filled circles denote the whole-wheat flour overfeeding diet; r=0.6, p=0.02, by Pearson’s correlation.