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Show The evils of sugar: fact or fiction We all talk about reducing our intake of sweets, but statistics indicate in-dicate we are losing the battle. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, annual per capita consumption of sugar has remained steady at about 100 pounds per year. We have, however, increased our consumption of other sweeteners such as corn syrup. The per capita annual consumption of all sweeteners is about 130 pounds. According to Dr. Georgia Lauritzen, Extension nutrition specialist at Utah State University, other than contributing to dental caries, there is no clear evidence that sugar is a health hazard to the public at current consumption levels. She says that according to statements in the USDA Dietary Guidelines "too much sugar in the diet does not seem to cause diabetes. The most common type of diabetes is seen in obese adults. So although sugar has been blamed for many things, there is little evidence that sugar itself is a health hazard. What is a health hazard is obesity. |