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Societalcontrolofsugaressentialtoeasepublichealthburden,expertsurgeScienceDaily

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Societalcontrolofsugaressentialtoeasepublichealthburden,
expertsurge
Date:
Source:
Summary:

February1,2012
UniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco(UCSF)
Sugarshouldbecontrolledlikealcoholandtobaccotoprotectpublichealth,accordingtoateam
ofresearchers,whomaintaininanewreportthatsugarisfuelingaglobalobesitypandemic,
contributingto35milliondeathsannuallyworldwidefromnoncommunicablediseaseslike
diabetes,heartdiseaseandcancer.

FULLSTORY

Agroupofresearchersarguesthatsugarwhichtheysayis
fuelingaglobalobesitypandemicshouldbecontrolledlike
alcoholandtobaccotoprotectpublichealth.
Credit:AlexeyBragin/Fotolia

Sugarshouldbecontrolledlikealcoholandtobaccotoprotectpublichealth,accordingto
ateamofUCSFresearchers,whomaintaininanewreportthatsugarisfuelingaglobal
obesitypandemic,contributingto35milliondeathsannuallyworldwidefromnon
communicablediseaseslikediabetes,heartdiseaseandcancer.
Noncommunicablediseasesnowposeagreaterhealthburdenworldwidethaninfectiousdiseases,according
totheUnitedNations.IntheUnitedStates,75percentofhealthcaredollarsarespenttreatingthesediseases
andtheirassociateddisabilities.
IntheFeb.2issueofNature,RobertLustigMD,LauraSchmidtPhD,MSW,MPH,andClaireBrindis,DPH,
colleaguesattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco(UCSF),arguethatsugar'spotentialforabuse,coupled
withitstoxicityandpervasivenessintheWesterndietmakeitaprimaryculpritofthisworldwidehealthcrisis.
Thispartnershipofscientiststrainedinendocrinology,sociologyandpublichealthtookanewlookatthe
accumulatingscientificevidenceonsugar.Suchinterdisciplinaryliaisonsunderscorethepowerofacademic
healthsciencesinstitutionslikeUCSF.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201135312.htm

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Societalcontrolofsugaressentialtoeasepublichealthburden,expertsurgeScienceDaily

Sugar,theyargue,isfarfromjust"emptycalories"thatmakepeoplefat.Atthelevelsconsumedbymost
Americans,sugarchangesmetabolism,raisesbloodpressure,criticallyaltersthesignalingofhormonesand
causessignificantdamagetothelivertheleastunderstoodofsugar'sdamages.Thesehealthhazardslargely
mirrortheeffectsofdrinkingtoomuchalcohol,whichtheypointoutintheircommentaryisthedistillationof
sugar.
Worldwideconsumptionofsugarhastripledduringthepast50yearsandisviewedasakeycauseofthe
obesityepidemic.Butobesity,Lustig,SchmidtandBrindisargue,mayjustbeamarkerforthedamagecaused
bythetoxiceffectsoftoomuchsugar.Thiswouldhelpexplainwhy40percentofpeoplewithmetabolic
syndromethekeymetabolicchangesthatleadtodiabetes,heartdiseaseandcancerarenotclinically
obese.
"Aslongasthepublicthinksthatsugarisjust'emptycalories,'wehavenochanceinsolvingthis,"saidLustig,a
professorofpediatrics,inthedivisionofendocrinologyattheUCSFBenioffChildren'sHospitalanddirectorof
theWeightAssessmentforTeenandChildHealth(WATCH)ProgramatUCSF.
"Therearegoodcaloriesandbadcalories,justastherearegoodfatsandbadfats,goodaminoacidsandbad
aminoacids,goodcarbohydratesandbadcarbohydrates,"Lustigsaid."Butsugaristoxicbeyonditscalories."
Limitingtheconsumptionofsugarhaschallengesbeyondeducatingpeopleaboutitspotentialtoxicity."We
recognizethatthereareculturalandcelebratoryaspectsofsugar,"saidBrindis,directorofUCSF'sPhilipR.Lee
InstituteforHealthPolicyStudies."Changingthesepatternsisverycomplicated"
AccordingtoBrindis,effectiveinterventionscan'trelysolelyonindividualchange,butinsteadonenvironmental
andcommunitywidesolutions,similartowhathasoccurredwithalcoholandtobacco,thatincreasethe
likelihoodofsuccess.
Theauthorsargueforsocietytoshiftawayfromhighsugarconsumption,thepublicmustbebetterinformed
abouttheemergingscienceonsugar.
"Thereisanenormousgapbetweenwhatweknowfromscienceandwhatwepracticeinreality,"saidSchmidt,
professorofhealthpolicyatUCSF'sPhilipR.LeeInstituteforHealthPolicyStudies(IHPS)andcochairof
UCSF'sClinicalandTranslationalScienceInstitute's(CTSI)CommunityEngagementandHealthPolicy
Program,whichfocusesonalcoholandaddictionresearch.
"Inordertomovethehealthneedle,thisissueneedstoberecognizedasafundamentalconcernattheglobal
level,"shesaid.
ThepaperwasmadepossiblewithfundingfromUCSF'sClinicalandTranslationalScienceInstitute,UCSF's
NationalInstitutesofHealthfundedprogramthathelpsaccelerateclinicalandtranslationalresearchthrough
interdisciplinary,interprofessionalandtransdisciplinarywork.
Manyoftheinterventionsthathavereducedalcoholandtobaccoconsumptioncanbemodelsforaddressing
thesugarproblem,suchaslevyingspecialsalestaxes,controllingaccess,andtighteninglicensing
requirementsonvendingmachinesandsnackbarsthatsellhighsugarproductsinschoolsandworkplaces.
"We'renottalkingprohibition,"Schmidtsaid."We'renotadvocatingamajorimpositionofthegovernmentinto
people'slives.We'retalkingaboutgentlewaystomakesugarconsumptionslightlylessconvenient,thereby
movingpeopleawayfromtheconcentrateddose.Whatwewantistoactuallyincreasepeople'schoicesby
makingfoodsthataren'tloadedwithsugarcomparativelyeasierandcheapertoget."

StorySource:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201135312.htm

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Societalcontrolofsugaressentialtoeasepublichealthburden,expertsurgeScienceDaily

TheabovepostisreprintedfrommaterialsprovidedbyUniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco(UCSF).The
originalitemwaswrittenbyJulianaBunim.Note:Contentmaybeeditedforstyleandlength.

JournalReference:
1. RobertH.Lustig,LauraA.Schmidt,ClaireD.Brindis.Publichealth:Thetoxictruthaboutsugar.Nature,
2012482(7383):27DOI:10.1038/482027a

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UniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco(UCSF)."Societalcontrolofsugaressentialtoeasepublichealthburden,
expertsurge."ScienceDaily.ScienceDaily,1February2012.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201135312.htm>.

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