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Dr Maxwell Adeyemi

Sugar, also referred to as glucose, is necessary for body function. But, if consumed excessively, can be very dangerous. Overwhelming evidence is now emerging in support of the fact that sugar is the major trigger for obesity. Unbridled consumption of sugary foods and drinks as well as inadvertent ingestion of sugar is now a major issue.
Many people enjoy carbonated drinks or soft drinks because they look and taste good. It is often difficult to convince a growing child that regular consumption of soft drinks may have untoward effects on health. But high sugar consumption is not exclusive to kids. Some adults too have difficulty controlling their appetite for sugary beverages, cakes and snacks, especially those reportedly designed for weight watchers, which researchers say contain as much sugar as other regular items.
Food companies around the world are now being asked to cut back on the amount of sugar they use in their products. Experts, academics and doctors say in order to rein in the wave of diseases and death triggered by excessive sugar consumption, levels of sugar must be reduced by up to 30 per cent.

Consumers will be alarmed at the amount of sugar they consume on a regular basis. Take the following items for example:
• Zero fat yoghurt contains five teaspoons of sugar
• Heinz tomato soup contains four teaspoons of sugar
• A Mars bar contains eight teaspoons of sugar
• A 330 ml bottle of Coca Cola contains nine teaspoons of sugar
• Pepsi contains nine teaspoons of sugar
• Apple J contains six teaspoons of sugar
• Fruta or Caribbean Kool drinks contain eight teaspoons of sugar
• A serving of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes contains four teaspoons of sugar
• Cadbury hot drink chocolates contain six teaspoons of sugar

If, for example, you drink two bottles of Coke a day, you consume 18 teaspoons of sugar, in addition to your meals on a daily basis. Sugary drinks and junk foods are now pressed on parents and children by a cynical industry focused on profits and not on health.
The World Health Organization recommends a maximum of ten teaspoons of sugar a day, although there is now a new consensus and guideline to cut this by half.
Food producers are now being encouraged and admonished to reduce the amount of sugar they add to their products by 20-30 per cent, effectively taking 100 calories a day out of a typical diet. This will go a long way to halt or even reverse rising levels of obesity and associated ill health.

We need to continue to implore our local food and drink producers to follow this path of sugar reduction in many of the items on our grocery shelves and restaurants, and start a structured and sustained plan to slowly reduce the number of calories people consume. It is also important that the general population be exposed to continuous education by relevant authorities about the choices and consumption of sugar and sugar containing products.
The idea that sugar rather than fat causes both obesity and diabetes has gained traction. As a result, an increasing number of societies are adopting weight loss regimes and programmes that concentrate on cutting out foods containing added sugar and reducing sugar contents in many of our staple food items.

A study out of the University of California recently indicated that for every extra 150 calories of sugar a person consumes every day, the risk of diabetes increases by one per cent.
So next time you are reaching out for that snack, buying that lunch, or you long for that soft drink, remember you may be increasing your risk of developing obesity, diabetes and related cardiovascular health risks. Chose healthy alternatives instead and cut the calories.
Making diabetes education available to the youth is the main thrust of the International Diabetes Federation in combating diabetes, and it is imperative that we use all available avenue to educate the general population and the next generation.

Contact Dr Maxwell on 363-1807 or 757-5411.

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