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Unit1 Reading

Over the last three centuries, sugar consumption in Western diets has greatly increased. The average person in the US now consumes around 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, far exceeding health recommendations of no more than 8 teaspoons. Sugar is commonly found in drinks and surprising products like cereal, and the labels can be confusing for consumers. Too much sugar consumption can negatively impact dental health in children and lead to weight gain, heart and liver problems, and diabetes in adults.

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46 views2 pages

Unit1 Reading

Over the last three centuries, sugar consumption in Western diets has greatly increased. The average person in the US now consumes around 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, far exceeding health recommendations of no more than 8 teaspoons. Sugar is commonly found in drinks and surprising products like cereal, and the labels can be confusing for consumers. Too much sugar consumption can negatively impact dental health in children and lead to weight gain, heart and liver problems, and diabetes in adults.

Uploaded by

Phương Phan Nguyễn Y
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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HOW OUR SWEET TOOTH IS HURTING US

Over the last three centuries, the amount of sugar in the Western diet has continued to rise. Back
at the start of the 18th century, a typical English family consumed less than 2 kg of sugar per
year. By the end of that century, that amount had risen 400%. Compare that to the 40 kg that
people now consume annually in the USA. In Germany, the second-most sugar-loving nation in
the world, people eat roughly 103 grams on average per day. In the Netherlands, the country with
the third-biggest sweet tooth, people eat 102.5 grams. Of course, there are some countries in the
world (1) where sweet food is less popular: in India, people eat only about 5 grams per day on
average; in Indonesia, it’s 14.5 grams; and in China, it’s just under 16 grams. If you’re not sure
what 40 kg looks like, it means that the average person in the USA now eats approximately 22
teaspoons of sugar a day. (2) The recommended limit, suggested by researchers from the World
Health Organisation, is no more than 8 if you want to stay healthy, but just one can of soda
contains around 10.

It is common knowledge that many drinks, in bottles or canned, contain a lot of sugar. Although
advertisements say that they are ‘energy-giving’, professional athletes and sportsmen and women
usually stay away from them. It is teenagers that are (3) their greatest consumers. And –
although advertisers promise that these drinks will make people feel energetic and active –
because of the type of chemicals they have, once a person has drunk all the (4) soda, they simply
feel hungry instead. However, sugar is also in products that many shoppers find surprising, for
example, cereal, (5) which actually has a lot. Because they believe it is a healthy kind of food,
parents buy it for their children’s breakfast.

A large part of the problem, according to nutritionists, is that people find it hard to understand
the labels on the back of food products. Nutritionists think this (6) should be a lot easier for
them. But at the moment, manufacturers don’t have to write ‘sugar’ on them, but can use words
like ‘corn syrup’ or ‘dextran’, which can result in confusion for consumers. But why should we
be worried about our sugar consumption? Firstly, it is harmful to young children because it
causes tooth decay; the pain from (7) this can mean that children don’t get the amount of sleep
they need. As a result, they can’t concentrate when they are in class. In this case, schools and
governments have a duty to educate them about good and bad food choices. For adults, the
problems increase. Eating too much sugar makes people quickly gain weight, it affects the heart
and liver, and can lead to diabetes.

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