Is Sugar the Next Tobacco?
Are Health & Wellness concerned consumers increasing the link of added sugar to systemic inflammation, leading to cardiovascular disease and a host of other chronic diseases and ailments?*
Let’s take a look of some information about it:
• Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980.
• Over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.
• 65% of the world’s population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
• More than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2011.
• Obesity is preventable
Source: World Health Organization 2013
Consumers are Concerned:
Consumers are well aware of the risks of a high intake of added sugar in their diets, and people from different regions are reading labels looking for “things to avoid”.
But, why Sugar is under attack?
“Consumers realize that regular sugar has its baggage of potential problems”, including a source of high calories that can lead to obesity, which is associated with diabetes and heart diseases, said Catalin Moraru, group leader of International Food Network.
At the end, the result is that Sugar reduction and/or replacement, is growing as Best for you products.
People are more conscious, but flavor remains being the most important attribute in food selection, because at the end, today’s consumer is not scared of sugar, is only scared about too much sugar!
“Sugar alternatives evolve, but some consumers still want the real thing.” Said Elizabeth Crawford, From William Read Business Media. Reduction, not elimination seems to work for Consumers.
Manufacturers are exploring blends of long existing sweeteners and natural sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit, while flavor houses are looking for ways to mask the off-notes of alternative sweeteners as well as redirect consumer palates away from sweet as much as possible.
Clean Labels
On the other hand, including artificial sweeteners and fillers in formulas run counter to the current trend of natural and clean ingredients, and there are not many sweeteners that sound more natural or clean that sugar!
Food Industry has a challenge combining those trends with the sweetness technologies, in order to maintain the Consumer preference, but remember, they demand for real sugar, but not at its current levels.
