Deborah Galuska Analysis

The past fifty years has seen a spike in the consumption of sugar, that number totaling a tripling increase. However, sugar is not the only risk factor here, alcohol and tobacco can also be attributed with the spike, albeit not as prevalent as sugar. The biggest question that Lustig et al. poses to its’ readers is this: “What aspects of the Western diet should be the focus of intervention”? (par. 3) The current USDA has been deemed “boogeymen” of diets, as well as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Lustig et al. all believe that our attention should be turned towards “added sugar”, which is a sweetener that has fructose in it. Perhaps the biggest controversy from the past fifty years has been none other than a severe culprit that experts know as high fructose corn syrup or HFCS.

When researching information on websites, there are many credentials that should be looked at. Credentials can include looking up the author names, checking the validation of the information, looking at dates and researching the articles published. By studying the topic of nutrition, there are thousands of websites out on the web with numerous amounts of information on them. Nutrition is a very detailed topic, and readers have to be careful on what they are reading in the fact of the information being true. To show the process of evaluating websites, I have picked two different websites that are paired together. The first one was for the company called JuicePlus, and the other was title EatRight by the Academy of Dietics.

Sugary beverages suggest a poor dietary quality; they are loaded with added sugars and attribute to the body’s energy density. “A 20-year study on 120,000 men and women found that people who increased their sugary drink consumption by one 12-ounce serving per day gained more weight over time—about 4 pounds per year” (19). Through increasing the daily intake in trivial increments, the body substantially results in an increased BMI (body mass index) and an increased body fat percentage score. Another study conducted at Harvard found that a 60 percent increase occurs in children for each 12-ounce they additionally drink daily. (________) The growing correlation between obesity and sugar has led to further studies, and statistical data. Researchers have revealed that in total, “half the people in the U.S. consume sugary drinks; 1 in 4 get at least 200 calories from such drinks; and 5% get at least 567 calories.” It was additionally found that one-fourth of Americans are consuming more than 135 grams of sugar per day from soda and other sweetened beverages, which compares to people of the past who only had 10 grams of fructose a day (_____). Such a high daily intake of sugar and calories illustrates the risk that arises when people consume too much sugar; that is, sugary drinks result in weight issues and medical consequences.

Excess consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are risk factors for obesity.1

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is an inexpensive syrup created by changing about half of the particles comprising corn starch into fructose. Due to the cheapness of HFCS it has replaced natural sugars in most of the food consumed in America. Resulting in HFCS being found in just about all processed foods made today. Consuming any kind of sweetener has shown to greatly increase the chances of obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and metabolic syndrome (Zeratsky, 2015). Since the invention of HFCS American obesity rates went from fifteen percent of the population to around one third of the population suggesting a strong

The American diet is based mostly in processed food which contains enormous amount of sugar. The excessive consumption of sugar can cause diseases such as obesity, heart diseases, alzheimer, liver diseases, diabetes and others. One of the problems with the consumption of sugar is that people get sick progressively without the knowledge that it is caused by sugar. In addition, sugar is an addictive food and life without it is almost impossible. As a result, processed foods are cheaper than healthy food. It is hard to avoid processed food when Americans do not have time to cook because of their life style. Americans need to know the way to change their diet and improve their lifestyles. Americans sometimes forget about the amount of sugar that a soda or flavored drink contains. These drinks are tasty, but it will not satisfy thirst. Sugar is equally dangerous and has the same health effects than smoke cigarettes. Consume sugar in excessive amounts per day have a significant effect in Americans ' daily life. Americans should be aware of the diseases caused by their eating habits, therefore; they should be more conscious of what they eat and change their diet.

The documentary “Fed Up” provides some important and disturbing details of the food industry. The 1977 heart disease and diet study known as the McGovern Report warned that the obesity rate was increasing rapidly due to American diets in fatty meats, saturated fats, cholesterol, and sugar. The food industry vehemently denied these claims, but the American people still demanded lower fat food products. The food manufacturers found that the fat removal made the food bland and unpalatable so to address this they replaced the fat content with sugar. Both the documentary and the Harvard Nutrition Source discuss the role sugar has in health conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. They both link the consumption of sugar as the causality for

The daily food energy intake of Americans has been consistently rising since the early 1970’s while the energy expenditure has remained constant. A closer look at the data indicates that calories from fat are the same or even slightly decreased, while the calories from carbohydrates have increased by about 20% (Gaesser). Coincidentally or not, this is also about the same time that high fructose corn syrup was introduced. Between 1970 and 2000 consumption increased from 0.6 to 73.5 lbs per person per year (Bray). Doing the math, this would result in an additional 360 calories a day, though it should be noted that other sugars were decreased over this time so the impact is roughly half of that. At the same time, the energy intake increased from 3200kcal/day to 3900 kcal/day (Gaesser). Taking this a step further is the fact that there is a strong linkage between diabetes and obesity or excess weight gain. Between 60 and 90% cases of type 2 diabetes can be linked to obesity. Increases in body mass index (BMI) are as linked to increased risk for diabetes as demonstrated by both the Pima Indians and female nurses. (Anderson) Altogether, this paints a picture that type 2 diabetes is primarily due to excess body weight, which is fundamentally due to increased carbohydrate consumption, and in particular high fructose corn syrup. As obesity looks to be the principal cause of type 2 diabetes, treatments need to address both

1. It is important to review the information on the "about us" page when you are thinking about using a website for nutrition or health related information, because the information provided will show if the site is reliable or not. It will also inform you what the purpose of the site is. To often there are bogus sites just trying to sell you something, or trying to promote a certain brand. So you must learn how to tell what the difference between facts and unsupported information.

Nutritionists would play a necessary role in a proactive healthcare system. It is estimated that healthier diets may prevent $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost productivity, and the value of premature deaths associated with these conditions. (Frazão) There is a strong correlation between the introduction of additives, such as artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and trans fats, in the American diet and the obesity epidemic, both of which began in the early 1960 's. (AHA) Although many people know these substance are unhealthy, they are not aware of how often these additives are present in foods deemed as healthy. These substances are found in staple foods, such as frozen food, baked goods, processed foods, jelly, juice, sodas, whole-grain breads, cereals, ketchup, crackers, yogurt, sweet pickles, applesauce, salad dressing, ice cream, breakfast bars, lunch meats, canned fruits, dairy products, sweetened beverages and added to some meats. (Siegel) Since this is such a deeply rooted problem that has not yet been solved through the efforts of educating the public, specialists are necessary to resolve this costly problem. (Calkins)

A single can of soda can have at least ten teaspoons of sugar, that is already the daily maximum recommended intake. Sugar can increase cholesterol levels, heart disease, diabetes and weight gain.Moreover. The obesity is a colossal problem in America. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 35.9% of U.S. adults over the age of twenty are obese (CDC, 2013). The CDC also notes that 69.2% of U.S. adults twenty years of age and over are overweight. The obesity problem does not only affect adults in the U.S. The CDC notes that 18.4% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are currently obese (CDC, 2013). These numbers show the harshness of the obesity problem in this

In an article written by Julie Corliss, medical writer at Harvard Health Publications, she addresses Americans unhealthy sugar intake, “Added sugars make up at least 10% of the calories the average American eats in a day. But about one in 10 people get a whopping one-quarter or more of their calories from added sugar” (Corliss). Sugar not only leads to weight gain, but also increases the chance of suffering from heart disease. Moving away from artificial and processed foods will help Americans lose weight and start towards a healthy lifestyle. If the body is consistently treated poorly, this will reflect in the mirror and on the scale.

Obesity and its subsequent ailments are regarded as the leading cause(s) of death in the United States and many other parts of the world. As such, much deserved attention and controversy has been brought worldwide. Many people place blame for this relatively recent epidemic on the shoulders of high-fructose corn syrup, an artificial sweetener whose use has increased for many years alongside the rates of childhood and adult obesity. While they are not entirely incorrect in assuming a widespread increase in added sugars would result in more calories per product, more calories consumed, and therefore more calories stored in bodily tissue, high-fructose corn syrup alone is not solely to blame for this phenomenon.

Tobacco, alcohol and poor diet are the main risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease that kills approximately 35 million per year. Out of the three risk factors, an inadequate diet was found to the culprit of more diseases than smoking and liquor consumption combined. In Aseem Malhorta’s (2014) article “Sugar is now enemy number one in the western diet”, he claims that added sugar should be regulated as it is a health hazard that has caused the increasing prevalence of diabetes and obesity. Malhorta only focuses on sugar being the main causative agent in causing negative health outcomes, he fails to address the fact that there are many other confounding factors associated with each disease

“Artificial Sweeteners: Sugar-Free, but at What Cost?” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Medical School, 12 Dec. 2016, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017. Holly Strawbridge is an author for Harvard Health Blog. Strawbridge’s purpose in writing this article was to inform the general public of the dangers of artificial sweeteners. The article mainly briefs over the negative effects of consuming artificial sweeteners, specifically the diseases potentially caused by them. This article speaks more negatively of artificial sweeteners than any other source used. It is also fairly short and direct. It can be determined unbiased and credible due to the fact that it was published through Harvard Medical School. This source would not be optimal for this essay because it provides information showing that artificial sweeteners are unhealthy and lead to weight