High-Fructose Corn Syrup: A Health Crisis

A health crisis has been taking place with the excessive selling of food products that have an excess of calories and no nutritional value. This is the case of beverages that contain high amounts of sweeteners and whose consumption has increased progressively in the last decades. This increase is partly due to many people prefer to drink a can of soda to accompany their meals or refresh their thirst, instead of preparing a natural juice or drinking water. This reality has made these drinks become part of the regular diet of most Americans, which has contributed to the increase of diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. These and many other illnesses have a greater impact on children and adolescents, whom by being in the stage of growth …show more content…
This is the case for sweeteners, that contrary to what is popularly believed is not sugar (glucose), is a compound called High-Fructose Corn Syrup. That according to H. Dele David from the Department of Pediatric of the university of Nebraska, has a different metabolic process, given it is not degraded by insulin, hence it enters directly into the bloodstream and into the cells, providing energy more efficiently than glucose, to which the body reacts transforming that energy into fat (Davies and Fitzgerald). Therefore, continuous consumption contributes significantly to the appearance of overweight and obesity. In addition, nutritional information for these beverages is calculated for people whose diet requires the intake of 2,000 calories, this corresponds to the nutritional needs of an adult and not a child or adolescent, that as stated by the National Pediatric Association needs between 1,200 and 1,800 calories per day. Therefore, the caloric intake of high-sugar beverages to a child's diet is greater than that described in nutrition facts. Most people do not know how harmful it is to drink these beverages on regular basis, given though obesity is the disease to which it is most associated with, there is also the risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and …show more content…
In a study conducted by the University of Columbia, the consumption of sugary drinks is linked to problems of attention, aggression and withdrawal symptoms (Suglia), which is associated with the caffeine content, that even in adults provoke an increase in alertness, cause dependence, and once it stops being consumed causes bad mood and headaches. Exposing children to the effects of caffeine has long-term harmful consequences since their social, emotional and learning development can be adversely