Beware of excessive sugar consumption

By Lee Kyung-min

The government issued a warning Thursday against the growing consumption of sugar, citing it as the No. 1 cause in the rise of obesity and diabetes in Korea.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said it will come up with measures to tackle the problem and raise public awareness of the dangers associated with consuming too much sugar.

The ministry will require manufacturers of snacks, processed foods and beverages to display the amount of sugar in products on their packaging, and push facilities for children to refrain from selling sodas. It will also ask celebrity chefs to promote recipes using less sugar

The campaign is a response to people consuming more sweet snacks.

An example of the trend was the fad for honey-flavored potato chips, Honey Butter Chip, in 2014, the popularity of which led to a number of local confectionery businesses to introduce multiple honey-added adaptations to their own snacks.

The consumption of sweet desserts from famous domestic and overseas bakeries is also on the rise as new sweet products are introduced. Many patisserie chefs run promotional clips and share recipes online in which they use a lot of sugar.

Most recently, celebrity chef Baek Jong-won has “promoted” sugar on his cooking show. Baek’s “easy and fast” recipes have not only prompted many people to actually take time to cook at home, but also encouraged his viewers to use sugar generously to make ” foods. The chef/businessman has hundreds of restaurants nationwide.

However, the public is starting to see the adverse effect on health caused by the trend. Food columnist and critic Hwang Kyo-ik criticizes cooking shows like Baek’s, claiming they are a result of broadcasting companies lackadaisical approach to health.

“Baek has the right to make or sell whatever foods he wants, but it is not right to promote sugar-laden dishes and say they taste good and are okay,” Hwang said on his Facebook page.

“No broadcasting company in the world in their right mind would openly encourage such a massive sugar intake,” Hwang said. “Broadcasting companies should consider their role of serving the public interest.”

Later, however, Hwang said he only criticized the broadcasting companies for not fulfilling their duty to properly educate their viewers about the health risks of consuming sugar.

Cho Young-min, an internist at Seoul National University Hospital, echoed Hwang’s view.

“Sugar, when taken in moderate amounts, is okay, but the problem occurs when people eat too much,” Cho said. “What I am worried about is the recent trend in cooking programs shown by mass media that encourage people to eat a lot of sugar. Occasional a little sugar is not that bad, but three homemade meals a day with lots of sugar is a big problem.”

Cho said it is common knowledge nowadays that excessive sugar intake is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart problems and cardiovascular disease.

As the critics point out, Koreans’ sugar consumption has been on the rise. The average daily intake in 2013 was 44.7 grams, making up 8.9 percent of their total calorific input, according to the MFDS.

This was less than the 10 percent recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), but was up from 7.6 percent in 2010 and 8.1 percent in 2012.

What is more serious is that consumption by those aged between three and 29 has already passed the WHO recommendation at 10.2 percent for children between three and five; 10.6 percent for those between six and 11; 10.7 percent for those aged 12 to 18; and 11 percent for people aged 19 to 29.

Seo Jeong-wan, a pediatrician and nutritionist at Ewha Womans University Medical Center, said minimizing sugar intake from an early age is crucial in establishing and maintaining healthy eating habits.

“Once children get used to the sweetness of sugar in food, they are less likely to eat vegetables and fruits or other healthy foods that do not taste so sweet,” she said. “It is not good that many children and teenagers consume sugar in such large amounts.”

According to the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), 31.5 percent of Korean adults were obese, with body mass indices of 25 or more, in 2014. A study by the NHIS also showed obesity costs 6.8 trillion won in medical fees and sick days off from work.

The number of diabetics in Korea reached 2.52 million last year, a 24.6 percent rise from 2.02 million in 2010.The NHIS said diabetes-related medical expenditure increased by 33.3 percent over the past six years, to 1.8 trillion won.