Sugar Consumption Around The Globe

I chose to focus on the consumption of sugar across different countries and examine which countries citizens have the highest intake of added sugars, because I think added sugars and processed food has a huge influence in our world’s increasing problem of obesity and diabetes. From my research, I learned that the US has by far the world’s high sugar intake at 126.4 grams, over 10 times the lowest recommendation (World Atlas.) The next five countries high in sugar consumption were Germany, Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands, and Mexico. According to the WHO, the amount of added sugar in one’s diet should never exceed 25 grams, and that countries with such high consumption are dramatically increasing the risk of many health conditions on their population (WHO.)

There is more and more research evolving about the harmful effects of added sugars, and how it can cause more harm to a person’s weight and health because of the dramatic effects it has on cholesterol and insulin levels. Countries such as Indonesia, China, Russia, Singapore, Israel, and the Philippines all consumed grams of sugar per capita that were within or below the parameters set by the FDA (Food Pyramid.) These countries also have some of the lowest rates of diabetes and obesity among their populations. However, these countries also tend to report much lower consumption of processed foods than the countries that were placed at the top of the list. Therefore, these statistics may be more closely related to the link between diabetes and obesity and processed foods.

Studies also indicate that a diet high in refined sugars can lead to an increased risk of diabetes or heart disease even in people who are of normal weight. The countries that showed the highest intakes of sugar were even closer related when compared with their population’s risks of these conditions. I think that when researching obesity, or any other health conditions related to it, it is important to consider a country’s intake of processed sugar as well, because this seems to have an undeniable effect on the overall health of the population.

This information will be beneficial when I am working on my “Follow Your Bliss” assignment, because I likely will focus on a nutrition based area of health among a number of countries. I am not very surprised by the results of this research, because the countries that were highest are also somewhat known for having the highest rates the obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other nutrition-related conditions. However, I’d be interested to further research the countries that scored towards the lower end of the list and see if I can determine why it is that they rank low in sugar consumption. Whether it is due to malnutrition, or if their diet has remained naturally low in added sugars and/or processed foods. I think researching countries that are better at avoiding processed sugars would shine a light on ways we can help lower our dramatically increasing rates of obesity and various conditions among many developed countries.