The American Heart Association (AHA) posted last week a statement noting that due to the high intakes of dietary sugars in recent years, we are experiencing a worldwide pandemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease. In lieu, the AHA now recommends reductions in the intake of added sugars. According to the AHA announcement here: “For most American women, sugar intake should be limited to no more than 100 calories per day and for most American men, no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars.”

 Between 1970 and 2005, average annual availability of sugars/added sugars increased by 19%, which added 76 calories to Americans’ average daily energy intake. Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the primary source of added sugars in Americans’ diets. Excessive consumption of sugars has been linked with several metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions, as well as shortfalls of essential nutrients.

Specifically important to call out from this article was the section on obesity. A recent study explored the relationship between soft drink intake and nutrition or health outcomes. Higher intake of soft drinks was associated with greater energy intake, higher body weight, lower intake of other nutrients, and worse health indices. Subsequent analyses from a large trial confirmed these findings, namely, greater weight loss as sugar-sweetened beverage intake decreased.

That said, this study isn’t saying that you cannot be successful on the program unless you stop drinking soda – but at Jumpstart, we do recommend you are conscious of the affects sodas (and sweets, etc.) can have on your continued success each week when you meet with your educator.

Do you have suggestions on how to cope with a sugar craving? One way we do this at Jumpstart is we take sugar-free Jello and add some sugar-free whipped topping as a sweet snack after dinner.  Yum!