--- title: Sugar Is the No. 1 Driver of Diabetes description: The number one driver for diabetes is sugar, according to a new report. canonical: https://time.com/3687808/this-is-the-number-1-driver-of-diabetes-and-obesity/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-29T18:47:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:58.101Z article:section: Health og:title: This Is the Number 1 Driver of Diabetes og:description: "A sugar calorie is much more harmful." og:url: https://time.com/3687808/this-is-the-number-1-driver-of-diabetes-and-obesity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2716d2ee52aa0f/69877ca435ba6f1d9dc06cd8/sugar-diabetes.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sugar cubes with one standing out in the middle og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is the Number 1 Driver of Diabetes twitter:description: "A sugar calorie is much more harmful." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2716d2ee52aa0f/69877ca435ba6f1d9dc06cd8/sugar-diabetes.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is the No. 1 Driver of Diabetes and Obesity by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 29, 2015 6:47 PM UTC  Sugar cubes with one standing out in the middle Sugar cubes with one standing out in the middleGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 29, 2015 6:47 PM UTC A primary driver for type 2 diabetes is sugar, [according to a new report](http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196%2815%2900040-3/abstract). In the report, published Thursday in the _Mayo Clinic Proceedings,_ ateam of researchers performed a literature review to determine whether certain ingredients are much more dangerous than others when it comes to diabetes, and to challenge the idea that all calories are equal. To do so, they looked at the effects of carbohydrates from similar calories. They compared starch, pure glucose and lactose to added sugars like sucrose (table sugar) and fructose, which occurs naturally in fruit but which we mostly consume as a sweetener, such a with high-fructose corn syrup, added to food and drinks). What they found was that the added sugars were significantly more harmful. Fructose was linked to worsening insulin levels and worsening glucose tolerance, which is a driver for pre-diabetes. It caused harmful fat storage—visceral fat on the abdomen—and promoted several markers for poor health like inflammation and high blood pressure. “We clearly showed that sugar is the principal driver of diabetes,” says lead study author James J. DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. “A sugar calorie is much more harmful.” DiNicolantonio and his fellow authors say current dietary guidelines are harmful since they recommend levels of sugar consumption that are unhealthy. For instance, the Institute of Medicine says added sugar can make up 25% of the total calories we consume, and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say up to 19% of calories from added sugars is alright. That varies greatly from the American Heart Association, which recommends no more than 6 tsp of sugar a day for women 9 tsp for men. The World Health Organization has proposed that added sugar make up only 5% of a person’s daily calories. “The studies that we looked at clearly show that once you hit 18 percent compared to just 5 percent of your total calories from sugar, there’s significant metabolic harms promoting prediabetes and diabetes,” says DiNicolantonio. “In fact, there’s a two-fold increase.” This is not the first time sugar has been fingered as a primary culprit in American’s bad health. Other researchers are[ pushing the message that it’s refined carbohydrates](http://time.com/2809007/eat-less-exercise-more-isnt-the-answer-for-weight-loss/) like added sugars that are the problem. “We need to understand that it isn’t the overconsuming of calories that leads to obesity and leads to diabetes. We need to totally change that around,” says DiNicolantonio. “It’s refined carbs and added sugars that lead to insulin resistance and diabetes, which leads to high insulin levels, which drives obesity.” DiNicolantonio recommends major changes to combat the problem. He says the government should stop subsidizing corn which makes high fructose corn syrup so cheap and should instead subsidize healthy foods so that consumers are encouraged to make the switch from processed foods to whole foods, since it’s the processed stuff that’s putting so much sugar in our diets. He adds that in his opinion, sugar-sweetened beverages should not be sold in schools or hospitals, and perhaps the government should put warning labels on them. Such severe changes are not likely in the immediate future, but if sugar is indeed the number on cause for diabetes among all other foods, then more needs to happen to help Americans cut back. Especially since there is no real need for added sugar in our diets. ### Obesity in America: Photos From the Early Days of a National Health Crisis ![Bulging at beach in 1949, 197-pound Dorothy \[Bradley\] self-consciously leaves locker room for swim. She covered up embarrassment by being jolly and gregarious](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40025c14dc316a51/69877c915f570f1e4cb14fb0/150129-obesity-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp) Caption from LIFE. Bulging at beach in 1949, 197-pound Dorothy \[Bradley\] self-consciously leaves locker room for swim. She covered up embarrassment by being jolly and gregarious. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Hungry at drugstore after a day's work earning money for nursing school, Dorothy envies slim girl's milkshake, orders lemonade without sugar for herself. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, squeezes through turnstile, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley (right), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, eyes dress in a store window, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Embarrassed at shop because she wears a size 40, Dorothy tries on new dress. A friend encouragingly points out that dieting has reduced waistline by two sizes Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In gym in New York sweat-suited Dorothy finds workout did not by itself remove pounds but did help avoid flabbiness as she lost weight dieting. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, measures her waist, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, meets with a nutritionist, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, tries on a dress, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE.Now down to 155 pounds, an attractive Dorothy dances at Navy Ball. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE magazine, March 8, 1954, "The Plague of Overweight." LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, March 8, 1954, "The Plague of Overweight." 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