Sometimes, commonly held ‘scientific facts’ come a little unstuck when evidence is presented that doesn’t agree with them. Take the concept that athletes and bodybuilders need to take on lots of additional protein if they want to gain muscle mass. Well, as it turned out the proof was not so much in the pudding as it was in the steak. The fact is even the most intense bodybuilders can easily get all the protein they need from their food and so there is generally no need to protein supplements.
However, it’s also true that scientific evidence often backs up common sense. For example, a new review has confirmed that increasing or decreasing your intake of sugar influences changes in your body weight. This is the first ever review on the subject, commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO). And it seems to confirm what we already thought.
Increasing consumption of sugars including food additives and those found naturally present led to an average weight gain of 1.8 pounds in adults’ body weight. The WHO reiterated its suggestion that sugar should be limited to around ten percent of your overall energy intake.
There has been a lot of uproar surrounding sugar recently, as the world’s obesity epidemic continues. New York City’s decision to restrict sales of large-sized sugary soft drinks seems to be a step in the right direction, but more advice and tighter restrictions still appear to be necessary.
When you consider the potential for rapid weight gain that comes with increasing your sugar intake it seems only logical that strategies for reducing obesity should include plenty of advice regarding the excess consumption of sugar.
Reducing the levels of sugar in drinks should be a top priority, according to some experts. As drinks are quick and easy to consume and people don’t always know the high levels of sugar that they are taking in one go.
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