Sugar does not cause overweight

• April 25, 2024

The regular consumption of sugar does not generate problems of obesity Y overweight , revealed an investigation titled: The intake of added sugars is not associated with weight measurements in children between 6 and 18 years. The creators of this study, Theresa Nicklas , Carol O'Neil Y Yan Liu analyzed the impact of sugar , in infants.

The authors of the study, published in the Nutrition Research Journal, concluded that sugar is not directly related to weight gain or adiposity levels in children and adolescents. They suggest that eating habits are the most likely cause of weight gain

"No food or drink in particular is responsible for the development of obesity. People eat all kinds of foods and beverages, and a bad combination of these can be the main culprit for problems with weight, "they warn.

They analyzed a thousand 196 children between 6 and 11 years old, as well as 1,940 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old in the United States of America, 34% of whom suffered some degree of overweight Y obesity . The objective was to determine if there really is a direct relationship between the consumption of sugar, weight and adipose tissue in children and young people. The authors clarify, in their text, that sugar is present as an ingredient that is used in processed foods such as breads, cakes, soft drinks, jams, chocolates or ice cream, as well as table sugar. This, without including milk lactose, nor that which is naturally present in fruits. The researchers found that the average consumption of sugar in children it was 97 grams per day, while among adolescents it increased a little, to 105 grams. These amounts represented 17% of the total energy consumed per day. However, the weight was not directly related to the ingestion of sugar, and even, many of those who consumed larger quantities had the adequate weight .  

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Another fact that surprised the research team was that many adolescents and children with a normal weight ingest more sugar than those who suffer obesity . Thus, while the former could consume up to 109 grams of sugar per day, those who had overweight showed a consumption of maximum 92 grams on average. On the other hand, the Body Mass Index (BMI) did not change significantly either.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), a diet adequate daily should contain 2 thousand calories in total. However, the average Mexican consumes up to 3,000 calories a day. Of these 3 thousand calories, according to the United Nations Organization for Agriculture and Food (FAO), 14.1% are derived from sugar.

So you know, the regular consumption of sugar does not cause harm to health and it does not trigger the increase in body weight in people.

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