UK government scientific advice says people need to more than halve their intake of added sugar to tackle the obesity crisis. [s]BBC News[/s] reports that a draft report by the [b]Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition[/b] (SACN), which reviewed 600 studies, says sugar added to food or naturally present in fruit juice and honey should account for no more than 5% of energy intake. But already many fail to meet the old 10% target. Prof Ian MacDonald, chair of the SACN working group on carbohydrates, said: ‘The evidence … shows quite clearly that high free sugars intake in adults is associated with increased energy intake and obesity. There is also an association between sugar-sweetened beverages and type-2 diabetes.’
A growing obesity epidemic among older people will lead to more over-65s suffering heart problems, arthritis and breathing problems, doctors say, as [b]UK[/b] figures show almost three-quarters of people of retirement age are overweight or obese. [s]The Guardian[/s] reports that the knock-on effect could prove so great that it may reverse the long-established trend towards lengthening life expectancy and shorten the time older people live free of illness or disability. [b]NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre[/b] (HSCIC) figures show that 5.8m over-65s are obese or overweight – an increase of 800,000 between 2003 and 2012.
[link url=http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28037415]Full BBC News report[/link]
[link url=http://www.sacn.gov.uk/reports_position_statements/reports/scientific_consultation_draft_sacn_carbohydrates_and_health_report_-_june_2014.html]SACN draft report[/link]
[link url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/26/three-quarters-over-65s-overweight]Full report in The Guardian[/link]
[link url=http://www.hscic.gov.uk/article/4804/National-report-sheds-new-light-on-the-health-and-care-of-older-people]HSCIC report[/link]