When consumed in typical amounts, there is no scientific evidence that fructose causes obesity or metabolic syndrome.
The incidence of metabolic syndrome has risen over the past few decades while Americans‟ intake of calories from sugar has stayed the same or gone down in the past ten years (Rippe, 2013; USDA, 2012; Mozumdar, 2011). There is no evidence to support a unique role for fructose in development of metabolic syndrome. Rather, there is evidence to show that fructose is not implicated in the cause of metabolic syndrome. It is more likely that an increase in caloric consumption and added sugars rather than fructose alone that is associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome and related outcomes, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Tappy et al., 2010). Systematic reviews by Sievenpiper et al. have shown that fructose in isocaloric substitution for other carbohydrates does not increase body weight, serum lipids, blood pressure, or insulin levels, all of which are components of metabolic syndrome (Sievenpiper, 2012).