The World Health Organization says people around theworld are eating more sugar. As a result, it says, healthproblems related to weight gain and tooth damage areincreasing. Sugary foods and drinks cause toothdecay, weakening the bone.
The WHO finds that, on average, the amount of sugarin the foods we eat has risen about 10 percent over thepast 10 years. But it has risen at a faster rate in someareas. In the Middle East and North Africa, sugarintake has risen about 15 percent over the past 10years. In some Asian and Pacific countries, sugarintake is 20 percent higher.
And in South America, people eat more sugar thananywhere else in the world. Francesco Branca isdirector of the WHO’s Department of Nutrition forHealth.
“In South America, we have approximately 130 grams per person, per day, somuch more than twice the WHO recommendation, but we also have someparts of the world where the intake is still low. It is within the WHOrecommendations, such as what is happening in Equatorial and SouthernAfrica, where it is about 30 grams per person, per day.”
Mr. Branca says reducing how much sugar you eat can be difficult becauseso many cooks and food-makers add sugar. He says researchers found that 80 percent of the food items in U.S. markets included some kind of sugar.
“Just to give you an example, an average size bowl of breakfast cerealcontains four teaspoons of free sugars. If you go for a U.S.-size can of sodathat contains 10 teaspoons of free sugars.”
The WHO is calling on governments to take measures to reduce how muchsugar people eat. It proposes taxing products with a lot of sugar and requiringfood-makers to list how much sugar can be found in their products. Anotherproposal is to restrict marketing of sugary foods and drinks to children.
“Just to give you an example, an average size bowl of breakfast cerealcontains four teaspoons of free sugars. If you go for a U.S.-size can of sodathat contains 10 teaspoons of free sugars.”
The WHO is calling on governments to take measures to reduce how muchsugar people eat. It proposes taxing products with a lot of sugar and requiringfood-makers to list how much sugar can be found in their products. Anotherproposal is to restrict marketing of sugary foods and drinks to children.
However, the United Nations agency says it is fine to eat foods that naturallyhave sugar, such as fresh fruits, vegetables and even milk.
I’m Jim Tedder.
*This report was based on a story from reporter Lisa Schlein in Geneva. KellyJean Kelly wrote it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
breakfast cereals - n. foods made from grain that people often eat as the firstmeal of the day. Cereal is usually eaten in a bowl with milk.
sugary - adj. tasting like sugar or containing a lot of sugar
intake – n. a food, drink or other substance taken in; the act of taking in (eating, drinking or swallowing)
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