Taxation of sugar-sweetened drinks is not only inequitable, but also has the potential to create or perpetuate weight stigma, which has negative effects on mental and physical health.
Salty french fries may taste good, but they just contribute to dehydration and obesity.
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There is more sugar and other sweeteners in our food and drinks globally than a decade ago, with manufacturers prioritising healthier options in richer countries.
People with ADHD may tend to only eat a specific food or meal before eventually growing tired of it.
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An anthropologist writes that despite best efforts, there is no guarantee that children may not have been exploited in the production process of chocolate.
Maple syrup contains bioactive molecules whose benefits go far beyond the simple pleasure of a sweet treat.
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Eighteenth-century Quakers attempted to align their religious beliefs with what they purchased. These Quakers led some of the early campaigns against sugar being produced by enslaved people.
Mansa Musa, the king of Mali, approached by a Berber on camelback, from The Catalan Atlas, 1375.
Attributed to Abraham Cresques/Bibliothèque Nationale de France/Wikimedia Commons
Sugar gets a bad rap, but exactly which sugar is meant? Nutrient-dense sweet ripe fruits are a far cry from refined table sugar – and their differences can have big health implications.
Harvesting on a Louisiana sugar plantation, 1875.
Alfred R. Waud/Library of Congress
Sugar has deep links with slavery in the US, but Black workers weren’t the only ones affected. In post-Civil War Louisiana, Chinese workers also toiled cutting and processing cane.
The enslaved people who produced sugar before the Civil War did dangerous and grueling work.
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Lina Begdache, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Kids often crave processed sugary foods. But research shows that consuming too many treats during childhood and adolescence may lead to behavioral and emotional problems.
Most candy is basically just a heap of sugar.
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Children who are fed diets high in added sugars are more likely than children with lower sugar intakes to have a number of negative health consequences as they develop.
Being able to perceive sweetness can guide foragers to the most calorie-rich picks.
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If you ever feel like you can’t stop eating sugar, you are responding precisely as programmed by natural selection. What was once an evolutionary advantage has a different effect today.
Professor and Programme Director, SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand