If you're confused as to how best to drop a few extra pounds, new research offers up a simple solution: eat less sugar. A review of studies finds that eating less sugar is linked with weight loss, while, surprise, eating more is linked with weight gain.

A large-scale review of studies finds that yes indeed, sugar makes you fat. ©Loris Eichenberger/shutterstock.com

A team of researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago analyzed the results of 30 clinical trials and 38 other studies, with the mission of assessing the evidence on the link between sugar and weight.

The results show that reducing "free" sugars -- defined as sugars added to foods or those naturally present in fruit juice, syrups, and honey, rather than those naturally present in foods such as brown rice and fruit -- in the diet has a small but significant effect on body weight in adults, an average reduction of 0.8 kg.

Increasing sugar intake was associated with a corresponding 0.75 kg increase in body weight.

The findings were published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal. Since 2003, the World Health Organization, which commissioned the research, has recommended that intake of free sugars be limited to 10 percent of calories daily.

Another recent study using imaging tests finds that fructose, a sugar saturating many Western diets, triggers brain changes that may lead to overeating. The findings were published January 2 online in the journal JAMA.

Access the new study: http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e7492 -- AFP Relaxnews

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