Question

In 2 pages “If you are what you eat, then what does it mean that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year?” explain your thoughts and reasons.

Answer 1

The average American consumes and continuous to consume sugar in quantities much over the recommended averages with the result that diseases caused by excess consumption of sugar have become widely prevalent across the nation impacting the quality of life along with wide implications for Healthcare expenditure for the country.

The recommendation for daily sugar intake buy expert panels worldwide are far below what the average American consumes per day. American heart Association has recommended consumption of a maximum of 25 grams of added sugar a day for women with the figure at 38 grams for men and range of 12 to 25 grams per day for children on the basis of age and calorific requirement. this is an alignment with the recommendations of World Health Organisation which states the exemption at 10% of the total calories consumed by an adult as the maximum intake with the ideal consumption beans 5% of total calories consumed coming from added sugar or other natural sugars. The average American consumes almost 71.1 for grams per day resulting in over consumption leading to various lifestyle diseases caused by excess consumption of sugar such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes comma and various other diseases resulting from obesity caused by excess consumption of sugar.

One of the main reasons for limiting sugar intake is its being addictive and leading to craving for sugar due to the impact on the brain's reward center where it causes chemical changes which subsequently leads to characteristics of craving and withdrawal symptoms. scientist at the US National institute on drug abuse have established that sugar causes changes in brains similar to doors visible in consumers of alcohol and cocaine which subsequently results in a heightened craving for the substance which causes these changes in the brain. This evidence has not only established the importance for regulating the consumption of sugar implementation of strict rules on the food industry along with setting off extensive research on addictive properties of sugar.

Excessive consumption of sugar over long time period and seriously impact the hormonal balance which regulates critical functions within the human body. Excess sugar really increases the level of glucose flowing within the blood which impacts the pancreatic function of insulin release leading to high levels of insulin within the body with the body being directed to store more food calories in the form of fat. Insulin also effects the hormone leptin which suppresses the appetite and send signal to the brain that we are full and need to stop eating. Leptin resistance also leads to an imbalance in the level of insulin within the blood along with high consumption of certain sugar such as fructose due to which the brain becomes immune to the message to stop eating resulting in weight gain and obesity. This was an important function for ancestors who had to survive over long periods with a limited supply of food and required to overeat in times when food was plenty to enable them to conserve extra calories is fat for sustaining them through hard times. Disability in the modern world is a major disadvantage as we are not faced with situations when food supplies limited thereby resulting in a continuous process of weight gain with no periods of subsequent weight loss in between leading to obesity over the long-term.

chronic health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are the leading causes of death worldwide with the common set of underlying metabolic issues which rays peoples risk for these diseases and the main culprit been identified as long term over consumption of added sugar which results in many of these dysfunctions. The metabolic syndrome define group of symptoms which when present together can greatly increase the chances of acquiring chronic diseases such as heart disease, liver disease and diabetes. The standard American diet which is extremely high in processed and packaged foods can lead to metabolic syndrome and subsequent chronic disease. the major five symptoms of metabolic syndrome are a large waist size up above 35 inches for women and 40 for men. High levels of triglyceride of over 150 mg per decilitre. High levels of total cholesterol HDL levels which of below 50 mg/dl for women and 40 mg/dl for men. High blood pressure of above 135/85 mm. High blood sugar of above 100 mg per decilitre. over 56 million Americans have metabolic syndrome which converts to one in five people and the percentage of 22.9% over age 20 with an increased risk for contacting chronic diseases, as per the American heart Association. The syndrome is identified as prevailing within families and wearing a cross veshal ethnic groups with certain groups showing higher prevalence.

One of the most easily identifiable signs of metabolic syndrome is a sugar belly of the Apple body shape type at the waist measurement is greater than the hips. If identified it needs to be confirmed through follow-up test to check regular blood pressure and level of fats and triglycerides along with cholesterol within the blood to confirm prevalence of metabolic syndrome. It is however not mandatory that every individual with metabolic syndrome definitely be overweight or obese and have a sugar belly, which essentially indicates that every individual consuming sugar in excess of the maximum limits on a long-term basis can be at risk for developing metabolic syndrome and subsequent chronic disease.

The United States has significantly laajo prevalence of most diseases which have been linked to excessive consumption of sugar over the long-term through scientific research carried out worldwide. 16 million Americans suffer from heart disease which is ranked as the number one kilo in the United States with the diabetes affecting 25.8 million Americans with the type 2 diabetes increasingly affecting people of how much younger age group causing extreme concern for public health. Diabetes can have serious impact leading to limp amputation kidney failure, blindness with increased risk of colon and pancreatic cancer. It is also prove to be closely associated with heart disease and Alzheimer's. Scientists are presently actively researching various health problems which may be caused due to over consumption of natural or added sugar including cancer which has been known to be caused by high intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars with higher rates of recurrence and lower rates of Survival after cancer therapy being established in patients indulging in consumption of excess sugar. deficiency of memory and overall cognitive health along with significant memory loss in Alzheimer's disease has also been linked to consumption of sugar. Quicker aging as well as wrinkling of the skin can also be caused by long term over consumption of sugar and all these factors are being researched extensively to establish clearly a link between sugar consumption and malfunctioning of various organs of the body.

Heart disease and other lifestyle diseases are widely prevalent in developed Nations with excessive consumption of sugar along with processed and packaged foods being a major factor.