1
YOUR CONSUMERS SHOULD KNOW: THE CASE AGAINST SWEETENERS IS CRUMBLING. OBESITY IS A COMPLEX ISSUE. Researchers Bernadette P. Marriott, Ph.D.; Christopher J. Fink, M.S.; and Terri Krakower, Ph.D., published a report titled “Worldwide Consumption of Sweeteners and Recent Trends” in 2014. The results are provocative, confronting decades of faulty assumptions and overzealous misconceptions about the link between sweetener consumption and the rising obesity rate. Scrutinizing dozens of reports and analyzing pages of data, the researchers have concluded that Rather, an active lifestyle and balanced diet are what matter when it comes to making healthy choices. Simply deciding between sweetener types has proven inconsequential to overall health. Spanning from inactive lifestyles to genetics to health conditions—and even to types of medications —the reasons for obesity are as vast as they are complicated. But in general, clear evidence shows that overconsumption is the major cause of weight gain—not specifically sweetener consumption. Since 1970, the average person eats 425 more calories daily. That’s like one extra slice of cheesecake per day. Consumers avoid sugar more than any other ingredient. But they’re more concerned about the total amount of sugar, not type. In the past decade alone, the absolute intake of added sugars is down by and total energy from added sugars is down by of daily energy intake should come from sugars. of the population exceeds this amount. Research shows that the body responds to table sugar and HFCS the same way. Each type contains 16 calories per teaspoon. Per recent research, most overweight or obese individuals consume only between 5% and 15% of their daily energy from added sugars—surprisingly less than those who were normal or underweight, and far less than the recommended percentage of daily energy intake. While this further emphasizes that obesity is a complicated issue with no direct cause, there is a direct correlation between exercising, consuming a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight. OVERALL CALORIES: THE BIGGER CONCERN. CONSUMPTION OF SUGARS IS DOWN. * SURPRISINGLY, A LOW PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE CONSUME TOO MANY SUGARS. ADDING TO THE COMPLEXITY: STUDIES SHOW THAT OVERWEIGHT INDIVIDUALS ACTUALLY CONSUME A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF ENERGY FROM SUGARS THAN THEIR THINNER COUNTERPARTS. 4% 23.4% GET THE FACTS. DISPEL THE MYTHS. SEE HOW THE SCIENCE OF SWEETENERS IMPACTS YOUR BUSINESS. *Bernadette P. Marriott, Christopher J. Fink and Terri Krakower, “Worldwide Consumption of Sweeteners and Recent Trends,” in Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose and Health, ed. James M. Rippe (New York, NY: Humana Press Inc., 2014), 87-111. **Kristine Clark, James M. Rippe, “Flavored Milk, Dietary Quality, and Childhood Nutrition,” in Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose and Health, ed. James M. Rippe (New York, NY: Humana Press Inc., 2014), 229-246. NO REAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE CLAIM THAT SWEETENERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORLD’S GROWING WAISTLINES. THE BODY METABOLIZES HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (HFCS) AND TABLE SUGAR EQUALLY. YET OBESITY RATES CONTINUE TO CLIMB. ** 25% Obesity and consumption of sugars in the United States. 1970-2009. 50 0% 10% 1970 1973 1979 1976 1982 1985 1988 1994 1997 1991 2000 2009 2006 2003 20% 30% 40% 50% 100 200 300 150 250 350 Calories from sugars per person/day Percentage of population obese obese HFCS sucrose 1970 +425 calories = 2,169 CALORIES 2009 2,594 CALORIES 13%
