The Sour Story of Sugar Consumption and Childhood Obesity

Sugar: It’s sprinkled on warm cookies pulled straight from the oven, poured into steaming mugs of coffee, and it may be the “major culprit” of obesity, according to a recent National Geographic article, “Sugar Love: A not so sweet story.” One of the main points the story highlighted that eating sugary foods not only contributes to increased calorie intake, but it also drains peoples’ energy so they’re less likely to exercise and work off the sweet treats.

Just how much added sugar do Americans consume? In the year 1700, people consumed four pounds of sugar per year; today, the average American consumes 77 pounds of added sugar annually, which is equivalent to more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar every single day! That’s almost 4x the recommended amount of sugar intake for adults (5-9 teaspoons daily).

Often the excess sugar in Americans’ diets hides in popular beverages like sodas, energy drinks and sports drinks. A 44-ounce fountain soda drink contains 38 teaspoons of sugar, according to the California Department of Public Health, and the average 20-ounce sports drink contains nearly 9 teaspoons of added sugar, which by itself exceeds the American Heart Association’s sugar limit for most children and adolescent girls (5 teaspoons/day) and boys (8.25 teaspoons/day). And for many teens, sugary drinks are the norm. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 67 percent of boys and 48 percent of girls in high school drink at least one sugar sweetened beverage per day.

Thanks to the recent “Smart Snacks in Schools” ruling, full-calorie sodas and other sugary drinks will no longer be sold in schools. But just limiting students’ access to these drinks in school is not enough. Kids need to have ready access to healthy alternatives inside and outside school, and need to learn why consuming less sugary sodas and processed food is critical to maintaining good health and avoiding chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

With a little creativity, educators can bring these alarming sugar statistics to life in the classroom and then follow up by highlighting life-long, healthier habits. The National Geographic article itself could be used as a basis for:

• A history lesson about the origins of sugar in the Americas
• A geography lesson about European exploration and trade routes
• An economics lesson about supply and demand
• A science lesson about the evolution of apes and how they survived on fruit
• A math lesson about the percentage by which sugar consumption has grown from the 1700s to the present day
• An English lesson where students present an argument for or against healthy alternatives to sugar-sweetened snacks

For more insights on how to incorporate healthy messaging into classroom lessons, read our recent blog post: http://bit.ly/13jncyj.

By teaching students the long-term health effects of excess sugar consumption, educators will also be reinforcing the new healthier meals and snacks that schools are serving through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Learn more here: http://1.usa.gov/16cRp2j

How do you teach healthy eating habits in the classroom? What examples do you use in your classroom lessons? Tweet us @BagtheJunk.