Saturday 7 September 2013

So we're eating less sugar

Another 'Big Sugar' horror story in The Guardian. It's called 'How Britain developed its sweet tooth' and says that the average adult consumes 30kg of sugar per year.

Since the 1970s, sales of sugar for the table and home baking have steadily gone down. In 1974, we bought 535g of sugar per person per week. By 2007, that was down to 125g.


True. Fewer people are baking at home.

But we have made up almost all the shortfall in sugars contained in processed foods consumed outside the home, up from 267g per person per week in 1974 to 568g in 2007.

So, in the 1970s we consumed 535g in home-cooked food and 267g in processed food = 802g = 42 kilos per year.

In 2007, we consumed 124g in home-cooked food and 568g in processed food = 692g = 36 kilos per year.

So we're consuming about 15 per cent less sugar than we did in the 1970s.

Can someone remind me why this is a public health crisis?

2 comments:

Ivan D said...

The Guardian article is pretty ridiculous but I am struck by one comment repeated at least once beneath it:

"...BUT how about also blaming the food industry for showing complete disregard for human health and being concerned solely with maximising profits. They are as evil as the tobacco industry"

It seems that Malhotra's fan base encompasses the more extreme and unpleasant elements of the Guardianista.

Jonathan Bagley said...

It's not sugar on its own which might be a problem. It is total carbohydrate. People have cut down on fat and substituted so called healthy carbohydrates, such as bread, cereals and smoothies. I say might be a problem. I don't know if an extra three inches round the waist is a health problem or just personal preference.problem