This is a pretty interesting theory:
Quote:
A food shortage gripped the nation in 1972 and agriculture secretary Earl "Rusty" Butz responded by freeing farmers from the restrictions of government regulation. They could grow what they wanted to grow and sell when they wanted to sell. Butz recommended corn and soybean. Plant it from "fencerow to fencerow," the fat man advised. Farmers responded and production soared.
As American farmers grew corn out their ears, a Japanese company developed a syrup six times sweeter than cane sugar. This new additive was derived from corn, high-fructose corn sweetener. It was a food industry wind-fall. Its potency meant that sugary food could be produced at considerbly lower cost. Its long shelf-life made it an ideal preservative. Fructose found its way into breads, rolls, etc., products which did not normally contain sugar.
Fructose was a gift for manufacturers but a bane for consumers. Unlike sucrose or dextrose which broke down prior to reaching the liver, fructose arrived at that organ intact. This aspect of fructose became known as "metabolic shunting." It triggered fat storage.
Today fructose in widely available. It is a listed ingrediant in almost all pre-packaged or ready-to-eat food items. By the 1980s fructose was a major ingrediant in all commercial softdrinks, second only to carbonated water. One of the single most important predictors of a child's future girth is his current fructose intake. Soda consumption in children was studied for a period of nineteen months. One extra softdrink a day gave a child a sixty percent greater chance of becoming obese. Each daily soda added .18 points to a child's BMI.
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http://blogdayafternoon.com/articles/03/06/22/9208021/