Determining the metabolic effects of dietary fat, sugars and fat-sugar interaction using nutritional geometry in a dietary challenge study with male mice

Jibran A. Wali (), Duan Ni, Harrison J. W. Facey, Tim Dodgson, Tamara J. Pulpitel, Alistair M. Senior, David Raubenheimer, Laurence Macia and Stephen J. Simpson ()
Additional contact information
Jibran A. Wali: The University of Sydney
Duan Ni: The University of Sydney
Harrison J. W. Facey: The University of Sydney
Tim Dodgson: The University of Sydney
Tamara J. Pulpitel: The University of Sydney
Alistair M. Senior: The University of Sydney
David Raubenheimer: The University of Sydney
Laurence Macia: The University of Sydney
Stephen J. Simpson: The University of Sydney

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The metabolic effects of sugars and fat lie at the heart of the “carbohydrate vs fat” debate on the global obesity epidemic. Here, we use nutritional geometry to systematically investigate the interaction between dietary fat and the major monosaccharides, fructose and glucose, and their impact on body composition and metabolic health. Male mice (n = 245) are maintained on one of 18 isocaloric diets for 18–19 weeks and their metabolic status is assessed through in vivo procedures and by in vitro assays involving harvested tissue samples. We find that in the setting of low and medium dietary fat content, a 50:50 mixture of fructose and glucose (similar to high-fructose corn syrup) is more obesogenic and metabolically adverse than when either monosaccharide is consumed alone. With increasing dietary fat content, the effects of dietary sugar composition on metabolic status become less pronounced. Moreover, higher fat intake is more harmful for glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity irrespective of the sugar mix consumed. The type of fat consumed (soy oil vs lard) does not modify these outcomes. Our work shows that both dietary fat and sugars can lead to adverse metabolic outcomes, depending on the dietary context. This study shows how the principles of the two seemingly conflicting models of obesity (the “energy balance model” and the “carbohydrate insulin model”) can be valid, and it will help in progressing towards a unified model of obesity. The main limitations of this study include the use of male mice of a single strain, and not testing the metabolic effects of fructose intake via sugary drinks, which are strongly linked to human obesity.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40039-w Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-40039-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40039-w

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().