Do you like sugary sweets like cookies, soda, cake and candy? Then you may be setting yourself up for heart disease. Scientists have discovered that increased consumption of added sugar is associated with an increased risk for death from cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The recommendations for added sugar consumption vary. In fact, there is no universally accepted threshold for unhealthy levels. While the Institute of Medicine recommends that added sugar make up less than 25 percent of total calories per day, the World Health Organization recommends less than 10 percent. Needless to say, these widely differing percentages mean that it's difficult to assess exactly how much sugar a person should or shouldn't be consuming each day.
Sources of added sugar in our diets include sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts and candy. In fact, a can of regular soda contains about 35g of sugar, which is about 140 calories-worth.
In this study, the researchers found that the average percentage of daily calories from sugar increased from 15.7 percent in 1988-1994 to 16.8 percent in 1999 to 2004 and then decreased to 14.9 percent in 2005 to 2010. That said, in 2005 to 2010, most adults consumed 10 percent or more of their calories from added sugar. In addition, about 10 percent of adults consumed 25 percent or more of their calories from sugar.
In addition to this increase, the researchers also found that the risk of death from CVD also increased with a higher percentage of calories from added sugar. In fact, the more people drank sugar-sweetened beverages, the more likely a person was to die from CVD.
"Yang et al underscore the need for federal guidelines that help consumers set safe limits on their intake as well evidence-based regulatory strategies that discourage excess sugar consumption at the population level," said Laura A. Schmidt of the University of California in a related commentary, according to this press release.
The findings are published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
