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A NEW STUDY from Swiss bank Credit Suisse exposes the “dietary impact of ‘sugar and sweeteners’ and their role in the ongoing health debate surrounding obesity and diabetes”.

The accompanying video — “Sugar: Sweet With a Bitter Aftertaste” — visualizes the sorry state of sugar consumption.

The harrowing effect of sugar consumption on American waistlines isn’t necessarily new news, but Credit Suisse does an excellent job of breaking down just how out of control it has gotten (especially in the U.S., where they had to literally adjust the y-axis of one of their charts so that U.S. soda consumption could be mapped).

We grabbed some screenshots from Credit Suisse’s video to break it down.

400 million people worldwide are affected by Type 2 Diabetes.

4.8 million die of the chronic disease every year.

Costs to the global health care system: €345 billion, representing over 10% of all health care costs.

By 2020, the number of people affected could be more like 500 million, with costs at €510 billion.

Sugar consumption started to change in the 1970s and ’80s, when health concerns centered around rising heart conditions.

The blame was placed on fat.

So we pumped everything with sugar to keep things tasting good.

Now almost anything you find in the supermarket is jam-packed with sugar.

And it makes up 17% of our diet.

So is this a problem?

Today, the world daily average consumption of added sugar per person is 17 teaspoons.

That’s 45% higher than 30 years ago.

The American Heart Association recommends 6 for women and 9 for men.

The US ranks #1 in consuming sugar and caloric sweetener…

… with an average of 40 teaspoons per person per day.

This is a problem for the future. The United States ranks second in the world for childhood obesity rates at 35%. In Ireland, it’s around 20%.

The US also has a high prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes.

Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Australia are close behind the US, with an average of 35-38 teaspoons per person per day.

Around 43% of added sugar in our diets come from sweetened beverages.

Type 2 Diabetes is linked with full-calorie sodas. Just one can of soda is about 8 teaspoons of sugar.

We digest soda quickly and easily without feeling full. Of course, genetics also has to do with how each person interacts with sugar.

The good news is that there has been a public perception shift.

But knowledge here is highly based on where you live, income, and level of education.

Governments can’t ignore the socioeconomic impact of sugar consumption. Credit Suisse believes taxation is an option to fund growing health costs and reducing sugar intake.

As Big Tobacco learned, taxation is effective. And as the sugar epidemic becomes more visible, you may even see something like this down the road.

Credit Suisse Credit Suisse

Here’s the full video.

- Steven Perlberg

Read: Drinking two glasses of fruit juice a day is actually pretty bad for you >