Any defence of sugar is pure confection | Aseem Malhotra

More and more people are challenging the food industry's PR machine. The evidence shows that sugar, not fat, is the enemyThe public health minister, Anna Soubry, has commented that the poor are more likely to be obese. It is well known that social status is linked to health, but her comments were also motivated by a mentality that victimises the most vulnerable. She should really be directing her criticism at the food industry. There is no doubt that an oversupply of cheap junk food fuelled by unregulated and irresponsible marketing limits our ability to make healthy choices. But there is an equally important question that merits attention: are we being given the wrong dietary advice?A patient recently came to see me for a cardiovascular evaluation. He was particularly baffled as to why he had gained a stone in weight several months after he had followed a dietician's instructions to lower his blood cholesterol by eating "low fat" products. How could this have happened?This week the British Medical Journal's front page asked: "Is sugar the real culprit in the obesity epidemic?", a response to a study published in the same edition that concluded that cutting sugar intake led to significant weight loss. A paediatric endocrinologist, Prof Robert Lustig, has highlighted the toxic, addictive and appetite-driving properties of sugar. His 90-minute lecture has attracted worldwide attention with over 3m views on YouTube. But the dangers of sugar is not news to the scientific communit...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Comment Food & drink industry Obesity Health guardian.co.uk Health policy Society UK news Life and style Business Science Comment is free Source Type: news