Did you know that the average American adult eats 22 teaspoons (355 calories) of sugar a day?  And the average teen consumes 34 teaspoons a day? This doesn’t include any of the natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables. 

These are startling statistics – and no doubt a contributor to the skyrocketing obesity rate in the United States.  In fact, Colorado is the only state that has an obesity rate less than 20%. Obesity can eventually lead to hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer, totaling to about $95 billion a year in medical spending. 

Will healthcare reform’s preventive programs and focus on wellness help Americans cut back and live healthier?  How do we begin to reverse the trends?

Well to start, we are what we eat. The American Heart Association recently published guidelines  about how much sugar we should consume per day.  Women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons or 100 calories of sugar a day compared to 9 teaspoons or 150 calories for men. 

Even small changes to our diet can make a difference. For example, eliminating one 12-ounce can of soda per day means cutting out 130+ calories (8 teaspoons of sugar) and losing 13 pounds per year. Imagine if we cut out that extra cookie or chocolate bar? We could be on the road to optimal health!