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This article is based on a speech by Dr. Aseem Malhotra, MBChB, MRCP at the UK parliamentary “Sugar Summit.” [1]The sugar summit was convened by a distressed mother Rend Platings, after learning
that today’s generation of parents will be the first to bury their children
because of increasing obesity. She launched ‘Sugarwise’ an organization for
increasing attention, education, awareness and giving people options on sugar
in their food and drink.[2]
Keith Vaz chaired the event which
included number of representatives from high-profile UK retailers as Tesco,
Caffè Nero, and the Jamie Oliver Group, as well as such influential
stakeholders as the UK Department of Health, Public Health England, the British
Soft Drinks Association, and the Food and Drink Federation. [3]
About 2 years back the WHO and Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition
(SACN) made a recommendation to halve the amount of sugar in our diet. But,
we are still far behind in meeting that mark. Sugar continues to play a major role as an important
cause of obesity for two-thirds of the U.K. population.
The U.K government has recently made
an announcement of an introduction of a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2017,[4]
similarly WHO also announced to tax sugary drink by 20% to check the global
epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. [5]
Scientists, researchers and public
health personal has long raised voices against the hidden sugar found in daily
food items and paralleled the addiction to tobacco. Legislative measures
against tobacco use and smoking is the single most driving factor behind the
drop in cardiovascular mortality since 3 decades.
Health Benefits:
Dr Assem Malhotra has included the
following research data in his editorial. Oxford researchers have estimated
that a 15% reduction in sugar consumption through such a tax would prevent
180,000 people in the UK from becoming obese within a year and a larger number
from becoming overweight.[6] But
the scientific evidence reveals that the positive health benefits for the whole
population of such a tax goes beyond a mere reduction in calories:
- An econometric analysis of 175 countries
(considered the highest quality of study with the exception of randomized
controlled trials) revealed that for every additional 150 sugar calories
available for consumption, there was an 11-fold increase in the prevalence
of type 2 diabetes in the population. This is compared with 150 calories
from another source such as fat or protein and independent of body mass
index (BMI) and physical activity levels.
- The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the
US population between 1988 and 2012 increased by 25% in both obese and
normal-weight populations, which goes to show that type 2 diabetes is not
a condition related purely to obesity.
- A high-quality prospective cohort study
revealed a trebling in cardiovascular mortality among US adults who
consumed more than 25% of calories from added sugar versus those who
consumed less than 10%, with consistent findings across physical activity
levels and BMI.
- The positive health effects of reducing
sugar intake appear to be quite rapid. In a study of 43 Latino and
African-American children with metabolic syndrome, keeping total calories
and calories from carbohydrate identical, a reduction from a mean of 28%
of calories from added sugar to 10% significantly reduced triglycerides,
LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting insulin within just 10 days.
Here is a video of Dr. Aseem Malhotra’s
lecture at Cape Town Sugar Free Breakfast” Sugar is public enemy number one.”
How much sugar is safe?
No amount of added sugar is needed by
our body, as it does not have any nutritional value. Just a very little amount of
free sugar, which includes sugar in fruit juices, honey and syrup has a very deleterious
impact on most common global disease of tooth decay. It is the single most important
cause of chronic pain and hospital admission in young children.
WHO recently recommended that no more
than 3% of our daily calorie intake should come from sugar which amounts to
three teaspoons. The average US and UK citizen consumes nearly 4-7 times the
recommended amount. This is also because of much of the sugar is consumed unknowingly
because it comes from foods that are normally not considered to have much added
sugar like Tomato ketchup, salad dressings, and bread. The rest comes from sugary
drinks and junk foods like cookies, ice-cream and chocolates.
He also further added that in US,
there is no reference range of sugar printed on the food labels. In Europe and
UK, food labels carry the range but does not differentiate between children and
adults. A can of regular cola contains 9 teaspoons of added sugar which is
triple the amount of daily recommendation made in 2009. The public lacks
knowledge because of confusing food labels and nearly 80% of processed food contains
sugar.[7]
It took nearly 50 years of research
and lobbying before a link was established between tobacco and lung cancer. Dr.
Cristin Kearns, University of California, San Francisco reveals in her recent
paper published in JAMA internal medicine how sugar industry paid scientist and
researcher to downplay its role in causation of coronary artery disease. [8]
Sugar Research Foundation paid two
scientists, Mark Hegsted and his colleague Dr. Robert McGandy to write a review
that countered the link between sucrose and coronary
artery disease. Both of them, overlooked the studies that implicated sugar as a
culprit, instead made only one
recommendation of changing fat and
cholesterol intake to prevent coronary heart disease.[9]
Similarly, Coca-Cola and candy makers have both tried to influence research
practice in favor of their products.
The message is very clear. There is nothing wrong in an occasional treat, but sugar cannot be a part of “healthy balanced diet”.
Dr. Aseem Malhotra's other articles can be read at his blog: http://doctoraseem.com/
[1] http://www.thesugarreductionsummit.co.uk/
[2] http://sugarwise.org/
[3]http://blog.euromonitor.com/2016/10/sugar-summit-sugarwise-takeaways.html
[4] https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/106651
[5] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/curtail-sugary-drinks/en/
[6] Briggs
ADM, Mytton OT, Kehlbacher A, et al. Overall and income specific effect on
prevalence of overweight and obesity of 20% sugar sweetened drink tax in UK:
econometric and comparative risk assessment modelling study. BMJ.
2013;347:f6189.
[7] Aseem
M. The dietary advice on added sugar needs emergency surgery. BMJ.
2013;346:f3199.
[8] http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2548255
[9] https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/12/sugar-industry-harvard-research/
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