ChrisL
Diamond Member
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- #841
6 real culprits that are making American kids fat
Americans are now consuming more than 30 times the amount of sugar they did three centuries ago — some 132 pounds per person per year. And children are no exception. In fact, the Mayo Clinic reports that 16% of the total calories in kids’ diets comes from added sugar — well beyond the recommended 5% to 15% range. The problem, says the Mayo Clinic, is that “added sugar means empty calories (no nutrients beyond calories) that put kids at risk of obesity.” Even more worrisome, says James Greenblatt, chief medical officer at Walden Behavioral Care, a group of treatment centers that specialize in eating disorders, is that sugar is essentially addictive. That’s especially true of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup, Greenblatt adds: “The more you consume, the more you want.”
Americans are now consuming more than 30 times the amount of sugar they did three centuries ago — some 132 pounds per person per year. And children are no exception. In fact, the Mayo Clinic reports that 16% of the total calories in kids’ diets comes from added sugar — well beyond the recommended 5% to 15% range. The problem, says the Mayo Clinic, is that “added sugar means empty calories (no nutrients beyond calories) that put kids at risk of obesity.” Even more worrisome, says James Greenblatt, chief medical officer at Walden Behavioral Care, a group of treatment centers that specialize in eating disorders, is that sugar is essentially addictive. That’s especially true of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup, Greenblatt adds: “The more you consume, the more you want.”