When you eat the same number of calories from sugar or from bread or rice, you don’t gain more weight from the sugar — so sugar isn’t uniquely fattening.

Eating a moderate amount of sugar from foods like fruit or baked goods doesn’t seem to make people gain weight or get metabolic diseases, even if you’re eating other healthy things.

Some studies say drinking sugary sodas is linked to weight gain and health problems, but eating sugar in foods like candy or cake doesn’t seem to have the same effect—so maybe how you consume sugar matters more than how much you eat.