Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD, Associate Director, Clinical Development & Support

My first grader is a sporty kid and so we move through the seasons with a variety of sports leagues. Coaches change, teams vary but one thing stays the same – the post-game snacks provided for the kids. They are consistently high in added sugars. Does a 45-minute, fast-paced basketball game really necessitate the provision of fruit juice, fruit roll ups, and dried fruit chips? At first glance, these seem like nutritious choices, but eating them all together means a lot of added sugar.

Drs. Robert H. Lustig, Laura A. Schmidt, and Claire D. Brindis have plenty to say about added sugar in the American diet. They are actually calling for added sugars (sucrose and high fructose corn syrup) to be regulated by governments in similar ways to tobacco and alcohol so that public health is protected.

That’s a highly controversial statement, so let’s take a look at the evidence they provide.

In 2003, four widely accepted criteria were adopted that justify government regulation of alcohol:

• Unavoidability (or pervasive throughout society)
• Toxicity
• Potential for abuse
• Negative impact on society

It’s not too hard to see how sugar meets these criteria, especially the first. In America today, sugar is added to nearly all processed foods and beverages – it is pervasive in our food supply.

Is it toxic? There is good evidence to suggest that consuming too much sugar is linked to high blood pressure, high triglycerides, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. This is partly because sugar is adding excess, non-nutritious calories to the diet, promoting weight gain. In addition, sucrose and high fructose corn syrup increase uric acid which raises blood pressure. They also need to be metabolized by the liver and if too much is eaten, can actually cause fatty liver – a disease that is also caused by excessive alcohol consumption. A recent study also showed that added sugar consumption may cardiovascular risk factors because it increases visceral fat, the kind that accumulates around internal organs.

Can sugar be abused? There are now several studies that show that humans can become physically dependent on sugar. Sugar can mess with the functioning of our appetite hormones, grehlin and leptin, so we feel hungrier and are not satisfied as easily when we do eat. Sugar also plays havoc with dopamine signals in the brain. It reduces dopamine signaling in the brain’s reward center,  making us want to eat more so we can experience more pleasure from the food.

Does excessive sugar intake have a negative impact on society? Well, if we look at the US costs to deal with metabolic syndrome (that cluster of high blood pressure, high triglycerides and high blood sugar), the numbers are staggering. $150 billion annually on health care resources alone!

So, if we agree that sugar intake meets the criteria for government regulation, then how do we reduce sugar consumption on a national level?

Drs. Lustig, Schmidt, and Brindis have good ideas modeled on successful tobacco and alcohol interventions. They are proposing taxes on any processed foods that contain added sugars and would ideally like to ban television commercials for products with added sugar that are geared towards children. They propose tightening licensing requirements on vending machines and snack bars that sell sugary products in schools and workplaces. There is a strong sugar lobby that will make these kind of changes difficult – but not impossible -as proven by tobacco and alcohol interventions.

Whether or not you agree with these ideas, it does make logical sense to look at your own level of added sugar consumption. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 100 calories per day for women and no more than 150 calories per day for men. Remember that there is absolutely no health or nutritional benefit to added sugars, so the less the better. Take a look at your food labels, read ingredient lists and stay away from added sugars as much as you can.