On average, Americans eat 61 pounds (almost 28 kilograms) of sugar per year. The total includes at least 25 pounds (about 11.3 kilograms) of candy — including about 2 pounds (about 0.9 kilograms) at Halloween alone. Soft drinks and sweetened beverages account for a great deal of sugar intake as well.
More Sugar-Coating Facts:
- An average non-diet soft drink contains the equivalent of 16 sugar cubes.
- Andreas Marggraf, a German scientist, discovered that sugarcane sugar and sugar beet sugar were identical. The US produces 9.2 million tons (about 8.3 billion kilograms) of sugar each year, and more than half of that comes from sugar beets.
- Sugar may give you wrinkles — collagen binds with excess blood sugar, causing it to be less elastic.
- "Sugar-free" doesn't necessarily mean "no sugar." In the US, labels that claim "sugar-free" can contain a maximum of 0.02 ounces (about 0.5 grams) of sugar.