How bad is our sugar addiction? It’s complicated

NEW YORK — Sugar has become the nutritional villain du jour, but just how bad is our addiction? The answer is tricky.

Berkeley and Philadelphia have passed taxes on sugary drinks, three Bay Area cities have similar tax proposals on the November ballot and the government this year recommended we limit our intake of added sugars to 10 percent of daily calories, underscoring how significant elected officials believe the problem is. But while determining exactly how much sugar we’re consuming is a complicated business — government figures are estimates— the data and industry trends indicate we’ve actually made progress in cutting back.

On average, Americans’ total consumption of caloric sweeteners like refined cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is down 15 percent from its peak in 1999, according to government data. That’s when we consumed an average of 111 grams of sugar a day (423 calories).

After plateauing in recent years, consumption was down to 94 grams a day (358 calories) last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A major factor for the drop appears to be the decline in soda consumption, as the high-fructose corn syrup used to sweeten drinks like Sprite and Mountain Dew has been on the decline.

Thomas Farley, the health commissioner in Philadelphia, said it could take many years before the positive effects from the reductions in soda consumption to turn up in health data. But he also noted that factors like the growth in snacking, the availability of food in more places, and oversized restaurant dishes can fuel obesity.

“Sugar is a problem, but sugar is not the only problem,” Farley said.