The Sugar Overload video is a very interesting report which intends to demonstrate how food industries and health organizations work hand in hand. Since both industries are enormous, they have discovered that it is better to work together than against each other. They have done so by deceiving consumers about the amount of sugars in their supposedly healthy foods and by diminishing the health problems related to sugar consumption. The video starts by comparing the addiction to sugar with addiction to cocaine. Experimenters were not looking for an addiction to sugar; however, when they noticed that lab rats preferred drinking sugary water instead of their usual cocaine water, they discovered that sugar has the potential to be just as addicting as cocaine. From the 100 lab rats that were already addicted to cocaine, 80 to 90 of them turned to the sugary …show more content…
According to Professor Philip James, the world´s most respected specialist in obesity, the use of sugar was restricted to teas and cakes prior to WWII. Today, on the other hand, sugary foods are found everywhere. Doctors have been slow to react to the relationship between obesity and sugar; it was only in the year 2003 that the link between these two was established. Before this discovery, the only known link was the consumption of sugar and unhealthy teeth. An interesting fact is that the brain is incapable of understanding or detecting the presence of sugar and that is why one continues eating sugar although the body has gained enough. A further discovery is that the brain is not accustomed to having many snacks in between meals, at least not sugary snacks. Professor James states that every additional can or glass of soft drinks increases the risk of suffering from obesity by 60%, which is something the manufacturers do not want people to know. He states that “When you’re into food, you’re into big
Soechtig uses factual data and statistics to further prove the argument of the increasing rate in poor diet among most Americans. The data used puts into view of how large an issue American’s have on their hands. She provides an example of how much damage one drink can have on your body. She expresses that one soda increases the risk of obesity by 20% (Soechtig, 2014). By using this statistic, Soechtig demonstrates the impact sugar has on one’s health. The statistic challenges the people in the audience who believe the idea that “one won’t hurt.” The director is not criticizing those who drink soda, but does hope to encourage and persuade them to make a switch. Even right now, over half of the American
“The Toxic Truth About Sugar”, written by Lustig et al. varies in their usage of rhetorical strategies to try to have their readers better understand that sugar, as common as it is, can be very dangerous when a big amount is consumed in one day. The numbers in our world don’t lie: A shocking statistic is that there are currently thirty percent more people who are obese than there are healthy. This discussion arose from the staggering facts that obesity is becoming more of an epidemic than ever before. The United States has a choice to make: Take the steps necessary to slow obesity or do nothing at all, like it feels we are currently doing. This can be a good or bad rush, depending on how you assess the situation.
The food that we as a nation consumes reflects the health and well being of the American people. We have become so accustomed to fast food and easy, unhealthy, diet choices that diseases like diabetes has become very prevalent and on the rise. One in every three Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. In the film “Food Inc.” takes a look into a typical grocery store and reveals the illusion of variety. Most of the food in the industry leads back to corn. High fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch, is found in many of the foods and beverages that we consume. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Corn has become very affordable and abundant and big food
Sugar. This documentary takes a look at how our school’s lunch programs and government play a role in the spread of obesity across the nation. The film really attempts to drive home
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
Walking down the streets of the United States, it seems impossible to avoid the sight of a major problem that is growing at extreme and fatal rates. This problem is known as obesity, which can lead to many other health problems such as diabetes and high cholesterol. One of the many causes for this is an unbalanced diet filled with foods high in fat and sugar. When given the choice, it is safe to say that many would be quick to grab a chocolate bar over a chai kale smoothie when hunger strikes. Many food companies have tried to follow the trend of the love of sweet foods by adding a fatal ingredient to their products. This ingredient is sugar.
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
Professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard, Daniel E. Lieberman, in his op-ed article, “Evolution’s Sweet Tooth,” published in the New York Times on June 6, 2012, addresses the topic of obesity in the United States and argues that human beings have evolved to crave and store sugar, yet in this day in age, sugar production, as well as consumption, has directly contributed to the unhealthy trend of obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. He supports this claim first by responding to Michael R. Bloomberg’s “plan to ban the sale of giant servings of soft drinks in New York City” in order to explain that this will ultimately be a violation of human rights, second by teaching his readers the history
Hyman, Mark. (2014). Sweet poison: How sugar, not cocaine, is one of the most addictive and dangerous substances. Daily News. Available at: www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/white-poison-danger-sugar-beat-article-1.1605232 (Accessed on 10 February 2014).
For years doctors have been saying that refined sugars are empty calories and consist of absolutely no vitamins or minerals that people need to survive. Dentists warn that sugary foods encourage tooth decay. Many people avoid sweet food because it can lead to obesity, heart problems, diabetes and cancer. These negative responses by people’s bodies are actually warnings. Maybe people eat sugar for other reasons than the sweet taste. The human body's negative responses to sugar may be a similar purpose to the reason kids feel pain when they are playing too roughly. People’s consumption of sweet foods might also serve as a sign of defiance against their bodies’ health limitations. What many people do not realize is that their tasty treats can affect their mind and emotions.
Addictive drugs like nicotine and cocaine and heroin, all can rewire the brain to crave the satisfaction that these agents produce. The desire becomes so strong that it starts to take over the body and it no longer becomes for pleasure and it becomes a need for your body. Now likewise, some people argue that some foods have the same power and effects on people that drugs do, where some of these foods can alter the brain in a way that is resets the appetite and satisfaction threshold in a way that it’s out of reach, meaning a person can never have enough. The obesity levels these days semi-dangerous, so some doctors have conducted an experiment that tested the effects of some foods on the brain, where they took 12 obese men after they consumed two milkshakes, whit the same amount of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates, and they were equally sweet. (Sifferlin 2013) On the other hand one milkshake had much higher glycemic index from the carbohydrates. After the a few hours the blood sugar levels went down leaving the men hungry again. But after they ate the region of the brain that is related to addictive drugs and behaviors was triggered. In this paper food addiction is discussed and shown that it is a real problem that further critical analysis and experiments should be conducted on such issue.
The Sugar Industry has played a crucial role in the dietary guidelines set forth by the government today. “Although it has detrimental effects, such as dental caries and obesity, sugar consumption has been on the rise, especially in the United States” (Lustig, 2012, p.27). The rise of consumption has lead researchers to think that sugar may poses addictive characteristics that give the sugar industry even greater power over their consumers.
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
Excessive consumption of soft drinks, low intake of fruits and vegetables, high intake of energy and fats increase the risk of becoming overweight and obese.
...k out of their home (Center n.d.). Modernization and development has left our working class people scrapping by to provide food for their families. To “solve” this, and increase their profits, corporations are now controlling the people’s nutritional needs. Since the development of the first sugar plantation businesses have been pumping sugar into our veins. We graciously accept this form of cheap nutrition because industrialization has left us inadequately prepared for survival in the fast paced consumer world. Simon Capewell, a professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Liverpool sums up the issue with sugar in modern time by saying, “Sugar is the new tobacco. Everywhere, sugary drinks and junk foods are now pressed on unsuspecting parents and children by a cynical industry focused on profit not health.” (NHS Choices: Your Health, Your Choices 2014).