The Impact of Reformulated Foods on Cardiovascular Risk Factors (REFORM)

Specific policies on obesity reduction often include a recommendation to reduce sugar consumption as a means of lowering overall caloric intake. Reformulating processed foods (e.g. sugary products) is considered one of the key options for improving population diet. The implications of regular consumption of reformulated products are not fully understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that dietary compensation is common, although the extent is not fully elucidated. In addition to the perceived impact of sugar consumption on weight control, high sugar intake, specifically sucrose and fructose, has been implicated in the increase of plasma lipids and markers of insulin resistance. However to date no randomised controlled study has investigated whether the consumption of reformulated low sugar products as components of a habitual diet have a significant impact on plasma lipid, insulin or glucose concentrations within a free-living, non-diseased population. It is hypothesised that exchange of reformulated, low sugar food products for habitually consumed foods will result in dietary compensation and minimal weight change compared with unmodified products and will have little impact on plasma glucose, insulin and lipid levels.