Time to Reduce Sugar Consumption Too

This article is also adapted from articles appearing in the Sunday Star.It is a public message from CAP, the Consumers' Association of Penang.

Malaysians consume an average of 26 teaspoons of sugar per person daily, revealed a 2005 survey. And early this year, 2010, the country was ranked the world’s eighth highest sugar user. It is typical of Malaysians to want to top all the world statistics whether positively but more negatively!
In the 70s, Malaysians only consumed 17 teaspoons of sugar per person per day.

Malaysians consumed sugar in the form of, among others, soft drinks, condensed milk, flavoured drinks, junk food and even breakfast cereals. A CAP survey revealed that some drinks and food contained 10 teaspoons of sugar in one serving.
A brand of orange juice contained 40.8 teaspoons of sugar in a two-litre pack while a brand of cordial syrup had 200 teaspoons in a two-litre bottle

The International Diabetes Institute recorded Malaysia as having the fourth highest number of diabetics in Asia with 800,000 cases in 2007, which was expected to increase to 1.3 million in 2010.
Sugar is said to link to over 60 ailments such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies.

According to the Health Ministry’s statistics, 11.6 million of the 16 million adults nationwide are sick with a non-communicable disease like diabetes, hypertension or cancer. "Malaysia has the most overweight and obese people in Asia with 54% of the adult population either being obese or overweight," says the CAP president.

CAP also urged the Government to make it a requirement for manufacturers to graphically display the sugar content in their products by the number of teaspoons as well as colour labelling with red, orange and green indicating the sugar level as high, medium or low respectively.

“The Government should also stop advertisements of highly-sugared drinks and food during children’s television viewing hours, and educate schoolchildren and the public on the dangers of excessive sugar intake,” CAP further proposed.

It makes a lot of sense to reduce the high sugar intake in children in order to prevent teeth caries, bad teeth development and obesity in young children. We should realise that being obese is not healthy even among children as obese children make obese adults, and obese people, whether adults or children, certainly face a lot of problems. These problems are not only focused on health issues but also personality and character issues. I have noticed that some obese people tend to have low self esteem and  lack confidence and social skills.

It is now time for us to reflect on our sweet habits, as well as the habits of our loved ones,before it is too late. It is wise to cut down on sweet treats, (cakes, sweets and ice-creams); and reduce or refrain from adding too much sugar in our cooking.

I have witnessed an obese boy who tragically died of diabetes at the age of 14. His diet never included plain water. He only consumed sweetened water or canned drinks. So, for parents out there, it pays to teach your offsprings good dietary habits right from when they are in their diapers.