Robert H. Lustig (born 1957) is an American
pediatric endocrinologist. He is professor emeritus of pediatrics in the division of endocrinology at the
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he specialized in
neuroendocrinology and
childhood obesity. He is also director of UCSF's WATCH program (Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health), and president and co-founder of the non-profit Institute for Responsible Nutrition.[2][3]
Lustig came to public attention in 2009 when one of his medical lectures, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth", was aired.[4][5] He is the editor of Obesity Before Birth: Maternal and Prenatal Influences on the Offspring (2010), and author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease (2013).
His pediatric
residency was completed at
St. Louis Children's Hospital in 1983 and his clinical fellowship in
pediatric endocrinology at UCSF the following year. After this he worked at
Rockefeller University for six years as a post-doctoral fellow and research associate in neuroendocrinology. Before returning to UCSF in 2001, he was a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and worked at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.[2] In 2013 he completed a
Master of Studies in Law (MSL) from
UC Hastings College of the Law.[7]
Lustig has authored 105 peer-reviewed articles and 65 reviews.[8] He is a former chair of the obesity task force of the Pediatric Endocrine Society, a member of the obesity task force of the
Endocrine Society, and sits on the steering committee of the International Endocrine Alliance to Combat Obesity. He is married with two daughters and lives in San Francisco.[2]
Publications
Lustig's publications discussed a proposed toxic effect of dietary
fructose – a component of
sucrose (table sugar), honey, fruit and some vegetables – on the development of
obesity.[9] In the early 21st century, Lustig believed that the liver is damaged by fructose in table sugar and
high-fructose corn syrup used in manufactured food and beverages (particularly
convenience food and soft drinks), and by fructose in fruit juice and vegetable juice. His position was that sugars are not simply
empty calories, and rejected the idea that "
a calorie is a calorie."[10][9][11]
Lustig was a coauthor of the 2009
American Heart Association guideline on sugar intake, which recommended that women consume no more than 100 calories daily from
added sugars and men no more than 150.[12]
Reception
Lustig's statements regarding fructose as a "poison" and the primary cause of weight gain have been disputed because claims of fructose toxicity are unproven.[13][14] Excessive consumption of fructose-containing beverages is likely a cause of weight gain and obesity in many people due to the additional
caloric intake rather than a specific toxic effect of fructose.[13][15][16][17][18] Fructose – when consumed in excess as a sweetening agent in foods and beverages – is associated with surplus calories and greater risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders as components of
metabolic syndrome.[13][14][17] Other reviews indicate that fructose has no specific
adverse effects compared to any other
carbohydrate.[13][14]
Selected works
Books
(2010) Obesity Before Birth: Maternal and Prenatal Influences on the Offspring. Boston: Springer Science.
(2013) Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease. New York: Hudson Street Press.
(2013) Sugar Has 56 Names: A Shopper's Guide, Avery.
(2014) with Heather Millar, The Fat Chance Cookbook, Thorndike Press.