Cholesterol Levels Changed by Sugar

Added sugar may adversely affect cholesterol levels.
USA Today (4/21, Hellmich) reports that added sugar may adversely affect cholesterol levels, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Investigators "at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta examined the added sugar intake and blood fat levels in more than 6,100 adults."
Bloomberg News (4/21, Ostrow) reports that participants "in the middle sugar-intake group, who consumed from 10 percent to 17.5 percent of their calories from sugar each day, had a 1.5 times greater risk than those in the lowest consumption group of having low HDL levels." Participants "in the highest sugar consuming group had about a three times higher risk of having lower good cholesterol than the lowest consuming group." The investigators "also found that as sugar consumption rose so did levels of blood fats or triglycerides."
CNN (4/21, Watkins) reports that the study "authors concluded that their data support dietary guidelines that aim to cut consumption of added sugar."
HealthDay (4/20, Edelson) reported that "people in the study who got 25 percent or more of their calories from sugar reported gaining an average of 2.8 pounds in the previous year, while those whose sugar intake accounted for less than five percent reported an average weight loss of about a third of a pound."