Those who eat one sweet after another, perhaps in hiding, and have symptoms of withdrawal, may be addicted – and exposed to serious diseases. The growing heat does not help.
New studies suggest that climate change may be increasing sugar consumption as temperatures rise. According to an investigation on September 8 in Nature, this phenomenon could lead to a substantial increase in the intake of sugars added by 2095, especially through sugary drinks and frozen desserts.
The analysis focused on the relationship between the climate and consumer habits, and revealed that sugar consumption increased when temperatures ranged from 12 to 30 degrees Celsius, although it decreases above this range, as appetite tends to reduce when heat intensifies.
Pan He, study co -author and teacher in environmental social sciences and sustainability at Cardiff University, explained to what climate change influence what we eat and drink, although we often do not understand. Duo Chan, also co -author and climatologist at the University of Southampton, added that people tend to consume more sugary drinks as temperature increases, so global warming can lead to even greater consumption.
Health risks associated with high sugar consumption are well known, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, when combined with the effect of climate change, these risks may intensify.
The study also shows that certain population groups are more affected: Men consume more sugary drinks than women, while low -income families have a significantly higher increase in sugar consumption during intense heat periods.
Lack of air conditioning in less performance homes and the exposure of outdoor workers contribute to this inequality. Also registered racial differenceswith white people presenting the largest increase in sugar consumption, while Americans targeting the Asian study did not record significant changes.
“The New Tobacco”
Those who eat one sweet after another, perhaps in hiding, and have symptoms of withdrawal, may be addicted – and exposed to serious diseases. Still, it is debated whether the dependence on sugar is chemical or “only” behavioral.
The world owes its taste for sweetness to the Arab civilization of the 18th and 18th centuries. It was in the newly founded city of Bagade that the passion for treats and sugary ice cream, porridge with honey, puff pastry-soaked in syrup and… sweets.
The very word “sugar” comes from the Arabic “sukkar“That, after the 11th century crusades, Europeans imported to the West. At the time, however, sweets were rarely consumed as treats, being used as a stimulant, a medicine for afternoon drowsiness.
Today, sugar is omnipresent: More than 60% of food and drinks sold in US supermarkets contain added sugar – even supposedly healthy products such as salads, soups and granolas.
Reading the labels of certain foods even causes tooth pain: 100 milliliters of American Coke contains 10 grams of sugar; Even a can of tomato soup includes seven to eight teaspoons. Thus, it is not difficult to see how the average American even consumes 17 spoons of sugar added per day.
The omnipresence of the substance is one of the major changes in modern diets around the world. Experts blame it for several common diseases, including those related to obesity and diabetes.
Hyperconnsuity: Chemical or behavioral dependence?
In fact, the evidence that sugar causes dependence is numerous. Compulsive consumption marathons, hidden use, sense of deprivation, tiredness after the peak of energy: all these are classic behavioral patterns of addition.
Neuroscience shows that chronic sugar hyperconnsum alters neuronal brain pathways, including those related to stress, affecting dopamine signaling.
“These changes are parallel to those observed in chemical use disorders, and may contribute to the voracity and hyperconsum cycle,” confirms the expert in Food Dependence Nicole Avena, at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in New York.
Surprisingly, however, it is not defined if sugar is really an addictive substance, as it does not act directly on brain dopaminergic pathways in the same way as nicotine or cocaine, for example. Some scientists advocate the theory that hyperconnsum triggers food dependence by “kidnapping” the dopaminergic system of reward.
For others, such as psychiatrist Octavian Vasiliu of Carol Davila University in Bucharest, Romania, “the person responsible is only the pleasant taste of sweet foods, not their high sugar content.”
Therefore, the dependence element would not be sugar itself, but the sense of reward its ingestion provides – which is different from the direct effect on brain reward centers, common to highly addictive substances. Therefore, there are those who classify sugar hyperconsumption – as well as, in general, the various forms of food addiction – such as behavioral dependence, and non -chemical.
Dependence or not, an evil
Neuroscientists Selena Bartlett and Kerri Gillespie of the University of Queensland, Australia, emphasize the importance of understanding why you fall into patterns of hyperconnsus and dependence, because “sugar consumption is deeply intertwined with emotional regulation.” The substance “affects the brain in ways that lead to unhealthy habits, especially in people who are stressed or who had difficult experiences early in life.”
Emotional stress is known to cause obsession with sweets-possibly due to the brain’s need to calm depressive feelings. In the long run, depression and anxiety can indeed contribute to sugar voracity, resulting in a form of addition. “The investigation also indicates that stress in early childhood can train the brain to look for highly appetizing foods such as sugar,” Bartlett and Gillespie add.
Dependencies are not necessarily problematic: only if the substance in question is also harmful. And this is the case of sugar hyperconsumption, says Vasiliu: Regardless of causing weight gain or not, it is “extremely dangerous to health.”
It is the cause of cavities, constant fatigue, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, among others. More than six teaspoons of sugar is considered to be excessive for women, or nine for men. For decades science has been studying as precisely the excess of sweet foods modifies the body.
“One study concluded that those who ingested four or more soft drinks a week were twice more likely to feel depressed, compared to those who drank less than one,” exemplify neuroscientists Bartlett and Gillespie. There were also associations with cancers, neurological disorders and dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
How to get rid of addiction
There are proven methods to break free from sugar, but it is usually necessary to attack on several fronts simultaneously. A possibility are interventions such as Cognitive behavioral therapy (TCC)which helps to identify and modify compulsive conduct patterns, including food.
“Nutritional strategies – such as gradually reducing sugars to avoid withdrawal symptoms, increase protein and fiber intake to regulate glycemic levels, and structured meals planning – can also be effective,” Suggas Avena.
However, sugar has been nicknamed “New tobacco”: Few can beat it alone. Vasiliu considers the government intervention to “increase the availability of healthy foods and reduce excessive ultra -processed advertising”.
Sugar taxes seem to be an effective means of containing the purchase of sugary foods and beverages: a 33% increase in the taxation of sweet soft drinks in four American states reflected at a 33% drop in sales.
In 2018, the British government imposed a tax on two levels, according to the percentage of added sugar. Soft drink manufacturers reacted by reducing the sugar content, resulting in a decrease in the global consumption of the substance.
The strategy does not always work: also in Mexico, a sugar tax on soft drinks has introduced, but the public simply began to consume fruit juices – equally rich in sugar but exempt from the rate. According to experts, the taxation would be more effective if it was higher and applied to all overdone products, not just soft drinks.
