"The dose makes the poison," and the health hazards caused by excessive sugar intake are often chronic. Besides leading to obesity from excessive energy intake, too much sugar can lead to metabolic syndrome-related diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and diabetes.
Isn't it common knowledge that nutritional excess leads to chronic diseases?
Can this be considered a "poison"? Yes! Non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death in most developed regions, and smoking, alcohol consumption, and poor diet are the three main culprits. Furthermore, scientists have also found that fructose has liver toxicity similar to alcohol, and excessive intake may be linked to cancer and cognitive decline.
Getting "addicted" to sugar may sound hard to believe, but the reality is likely just as cruel. For example, sugar can disrupt the body's suppression of ghrelin and reduce the satiety signal received from leptin. Additionally, sugar can affect the brain's "reward center," causing people to need to eat more to feel satisfied.
Although most Western countries clearly list calories on food packaging, it's easy to consume excess energy in these countries if one is not careful, and obesity and other metabolic syndrome-related diseases are everywhere.
China's current situation may not be as dire as in Western developed countries, but it is not optimistic either. With the invasion of Western diets, more and more people's diets are gradually becoming immersed in a sugar jar.
In terms of per capita sugar intake, China is still far below European and American countries, even at a similar level to Africa (less than 100g per day). However, there is a very uneven distribution of sugar consumption in China, with significant differences between urban and rural areas, and between developed coastal regions and poorer areas. Meanwhile, metabolic syndrome-related diseases such as obesity are gradually吞噬ing the health of the population. Currently, more than 30% of Chinese adults are overweight, and the obesity rate exceeds 10%; the national population with high blood pressure reached 160 million in 2004; and the prevalence of diabetes in large and medium-sized cities has approached 10%.
Although we have a great deal of scientific and systematic knowledge about what constitutes a healthy diet and what lifestyle is most beneficial for the body, the effect of health education alone seems insignificant. McDonald's and Coca-Cola are still major sponsors of events like the European Championship and the Olympic Games, tirelessly selling Big Macs and sugary sodas to the world through sports competitions—which seems even more ironic. The economic lever seems to truly have the courage to move the earth, and the governments of some countries and regions seem to have an ambiguous relationship with these commercial interest groups. Despite this ambiguity, policy levers can indeed influence product consumption to some extent.
Although China's current per capita sugar consumption level is still low, we must not be complacent or let our guard down. It is clear that such data is seen by many "sugar peddlers" as a symbol of market potential. Chinese people must be wary of this real health bomb, wrapped in a sugar coat and containing a sugar core!