Since the 1970s, sales of sugar for the table and home baking have steadily gone down. In 1974, we bought 535g of sugar per person per week. By 2007, that was down to 125g.
True. Fewer people are baking at home.
But we have made up almost all the shortfall in sugars contained in processed foods consumed outside the home, up from 267g per person per week in 1974 to 568g in 2007.
So, in the 1970s we consumed 535g in home-cooked food and 267g in processed food = 802g = 42 kilos per year.
In 2007, we consumed 124g in home-cooked food and 568g in processed food = 692g = 36 kilos per year.
So we're consuming about 15 per cent less sugar than we did in the 1970s.
Can someone remind me why this is a public health crisis?
