Some like it salty; some like it sweet. As a nation, however, people in the United States have shown time and again a craving for sweets -- especially desserts and soft drinks that have been sweetened with extra sugar.
It's this "added sugar" that's being blamed for making the nation fat. In fact, the average consumption of sugary food and beverages has risen nearly 39 percent since the 1950's, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Today, the typical American's daily sugar load amounts to a whopping 32 teaspoons per day. If you're eating that much sugar, you're eating more than 115 pounds a year. About a third of this confectionary consumption comes from sugary soft drinks. Another 19 percent comes from other sweetened beverages, like fruit drinks and chocolate milk, while 16 percent comes from candies and sweets, and 13 percent comes from sweetened grains, like breakfast cereal and bread. So just how sweet is our sweet tooth? Take this short quiz to find out how much you know about sugar.
First published Mar 23, 2004
Last updated Oct 21, 2008
Copyright © 2004
Consumer Health Interactive, a CVS Caremark company
