There seems to be a nationwide effort to make America’s obesity rate go down. There was once a time when nutritionists thought fat was the leading cause of the obesity epidemic. Thus, labels are slapped on food with the convincing words along the lines of: “0-percent fat.” If all of our food is becoming low-fat, then shouldn’t our population be getting thinner?

According to  Dr Robert Lustig, author of “Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar,” 38%-percent of adults in our country are obese. So, what is the issue? Why is our population getting fatter is we are cutting down on fat? The answer lies in one sweet villain- sugar, or more commonly seen as high-fructose corn syrup or disguised as dextrose, glucose or diastatic malt.

Sugar has a sneaky way of creeping up on its consumer. It is a carbohydrate which will transfer into fat in the body. It contains empty calories that will ultimately fatten up the body, while increasing insulin resistance, in turn causing a spike of hunger that makes the consumer want more sugary foods.  As fat levels have been decreasing in food, sugar levels have been going up, according to nutritionist Dr. Michael Greger.

The food industry has even hooked the consumer on buying more and more sugar because it is just as addictive as cocaine and heroin, according to researchers from Queensland University of Technology. Sugar is in virtually every food, such as breakfast cereals, soda, chips, bread, cookies, pastries, jams, pasta, etc, becoming a staple ingredient in most people’s diet. Foods that are advertised as a healthy option could be loaded with sugar, thus consumers think they are eating well but are in reality getting hooked on a tasty treat.

Cutting calories and not eating has been a common method for many obese people to cut down on their weight, which most likely caused by high sugar diets in the first place. However, this is not necessarily the way to go. One calorie of sugar can have more fattening effects on your body than one calorie of fat. This dangerous truth can dig a ditch for overweight people because low-fat foods that are loaded with sugar are cheap- making it more appealing to the consumer.

The best way to combat eating sugary foods is to eat all of your sugars from fruits, or make sure they are natural if added into food. Currently, the food industry refutes all claims of boosting sugar in their food, so change to this issue will most likely come slow. In the meantime, obesity will only increase if the food industry keeps poisoning foods with excess sugar.