Robert H. Lustig, MD, is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He is nationally recognized in the US in the field of neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. Dr. Lustig has a special interest in childhood obesity. He has become publicly notable through his efforts to draw attention to the effects that the natural sugar fructose can have on human and especially children’s health if consumed in large amounts. Dr. Lustig is a CONEM member.

On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave this lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” which was posted on YouTube the following July and has become a viral success with over a million viewings. In this lecture, Lustig notably calls fructose a “poison” and compares its metabolic effects with those of ethanol. He is particularly critical of the widespread use of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the United States.

Sugar: The Bitter Truth. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [7/2009] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16717].