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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
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Food companies’ stealthy sugar tactics contribute to rising obesity rates

When it comes to our health, we are living an oxymoron. Diet and exercise seem to be increasingly popular crazes — however, at the same time, obesity trends seem to be increasing as steadily as ever.

In 2012, ABC News reported that weight-loss industries were receiving about $20 billion annually from Americans. Yet The Gallup Organization also reported that obesity rates had increased from 26.2 to 27.2 percent from 2012 to 2013. If Americans are putting so much money into weight-loss amenities, then what is the cause for this increasing rate of obesity? Some scientists are pointing to a product quite familiar to all of us: sugar.

It seems to me the only worry that follows consuming an entire bag of M&Ms is a trip to the dentist. Nobody likes to have their teeth drilled into, but are we overlooking other dangers of sugar?

Recent studies have shown that we have much more to fear than cavities. In the past, many dietitians and health companies associated diseases such as obesity, hypertension and heart disease with fat consumption. We now know that these same problems can be caused by overconsumption of sugar.

In earlier efforts to prevent these diseases, we saw a drastic decrease in the amount of fats present in food items. If you walk down any food aisle at the grocery store, the original product is usually neighboring a similar box with the words “Fat Free” or “Reduced Fat” written along the cover in big letters.

This is where you should begin to worry — and not just about your teeth.

It turns out that taking the fat out of a product actually makes it taste pretty bad. Food companies and manufacturing warehouses are aware of this. This is why a decrease in fat often leads to an increase in sugar.

The sugar existing in these products can be either glucose or fructose. A lot of the companies that argue their product doesn’t have much sugar are most likely talking about the levels of glucose; however, the levels of fructose existing in the products certainly make up for that absence.

When high amounts of fructose are ingested, the liver is overwhelmed. The excess fructose causes a higher concentration of LDL cholesterol in the blood to be produced. This cholesterol is bad cholesterol and is a big contributor to disease.

You may not even be aware of the products you are consuming with high levels of sugar. Pasta sauce, fruit, Nutri-Grain bars, light yogurt, Quaker oatmeal, iced tea, hamburger buns, peanut butter and even Weight Watchers items all contain sugar. According to CNN, about “130 pounds of sugar” are consumed per person a year.

That is an insane amount of sugar.

Sugar also impacts the brain. Studies show that the same parts of the brain aroused by cocaine are stimulated by sugar because of a release of dopamine when consumed. This proves that sugar can be extremely addicting. Just like anything addicting, tolerances can be built. This means that the more sugar you ingest, the more sugar your body will crave to meet its need.

Not only are food companies putting ridiculous amounts of sugar in all foods, but they are also feeding your addiction. With increasing trends in obesity and harmful diseases, the FDA should force food companies to reduce or even eliminate the added sugars in the foods we eat.

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