Dietary Sugar And Body Fat Analysis

In the article, “Dietary Sugar and Body Weight….Health be Damned! Pour on the Sugar,” dietary experts George Bray and Barry Popkin explore the detrimental effects of sugar on society’s health. The article delineates how rapid increases in the consumption of sugar (particularly fructose) and sugar sweetened beverages over the past 25 years are contributing to the growth of chronic conditions such as fatty liver disease and metabolic syndromes. Both authors suggest that the presence and overconsumption of HFCS and fructose in many sugar sweetened beverages are found to be the main links to weight gain and fat increase. Ultimately, the authors draw conclusions from numerous dietary studies to show that individuals are experiencing rapid body alterations in shorter periods of time (i.e. sudden increase in visceral fats) due to the fructose present in sugar sweetened beverages. In contrast, the article, “Dietary Sugar and Body Weight…We Have, but the Pox on Sugar is Overwrought and Overworked,” expresses a different view on the health effects of sugar. Authors Richard Kahn and John Sievenpiper take on a more methodological perspective and argue that the molecular composition and presence of sugar in weight gain and diabetic studies show no definitive link between consumption of sugar and adverse health effects. Like Bray and Popkin, Khan and …show more content…
From reading the articles, I found the history underlying Bray’s and Popkin’s perspective to be surprising. The amount of sugar that is consumed yearly has increased significantly from 1994-onwards, where more than 120 lbs of sugar were consumed per person, compared to 1776 where it was just 4 lbs. It was interesting to see how society has changed drastically in their health and sugar consumption. Moreover, I found Kahn and Sievenpieper’s paper to make me more cognizant of the problem’s of dietary studies and the challenges to conclude accurate, yet provable