Sugar To Blame For Increased Heart Disease Risk In Teens

Sugar consumption among adolescents has nearly doubled since the 1970s. Image courtesy of e³°°°.

Early signs of heart disease are reaching kids at younger ages every year. A new study published by the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation, suggests that added sugars may be the reason.

The study examined data from almost 2,500 adolescents ages 12 to 18 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Dietary questionnaires were used to divide the participants into 6 groups based on the percentage of calories from added sugar.

There were no differences in the amount of added sugar consumed among any demographic factors including age, gender, ethnicity, income or education level. Likewise, there were no differences between the amount of added sugars and physical activity or total calories. Higher sugar intake was therefore associated with less protein and, notably, less fat consumption.

The more sugar participants ate, the worse their blood lipid profiles. Healthy HDL cholesterol was significantly lower in those who ate the most sugar compared to those who ate the least. However, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol were both approximately 10% higher in those who consumed the most sugar.

Lipid profiles did not correlate with body weight, meaning high sugar intake was just as unhealthy for the slim kids as for the overweight kids. However, body weight did correlate with measures of insulin resistance, and in these cases high sugar intake was more dangerous for the overweight participants.

In 1986, the Sugar Task Force of the US Food and Drug Administration estimated that from 1977-1978 average sugar consumption among adolescents was between 62-84 g per day. In the current study, which measured data from 1999-2004, daily sugar intake increased to 119 g. Interestingly, the 1986 Sugar Task Force had concluded that sugar did not have an effect on heart disease risk.

UCSF pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig told CBS San Francisco, “Children are already showing signs of cardiovascular disease even during puberty.”

Lustig went on to say that “if nothing is done then we can expect an entire generation of cardiac cripples by the time they're 40.”

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