Battle Over Sugary Diets Drags On

Nutritionists, the sugar industry and governments remain locked in a battle for the hearts, minds and wallets of Americans. According to an American Heart Association spokesman, U.S. adults on average consume 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day. That contributes mightily to obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and makes it a public health policy issue. But sugar industry representatives, like the Corn Refiners Association and the Sugar Association, say sugars have been "unfairly demonized." America’s obesity problem is "much more complicated," they argue. Agreed, some nutrition experts say: sugar itself is not evil. The critical health problem arises when sugar is consumed in super-size quantities every day.