Hidden Sugars & fats in food, is it only a US problem?

ferrytrip

So I know that when Europeans think of Americans they think "FAT" but not all of it is entirely our fault. My mother (from Ireland) visited me a few years ago and remarked that our bread was sweet. Even our plain white bread hs sugar in it.
Is this only a US problem?

SeaRunner26

Thank the marketers. Anything to make us want to buy their products. I think a lot of sugars and salts are added just for that reason.

Erika1962

I don't know if this is only an American problem, but when I moved here to the states 17 years ago (from Europe), I gained 100 pounds withing the first couple of years.

yarwell

Overwhelming sweetness does seem common in the US, but I suspect the UK isn't far behind. I'm now seeing Krispy Kreme obesity stalls and shops popping up and crap like pretzels being peddled in the shopping centre. We're importing your failures without learning from them.

I don't think it's "hidden", at least not if you read the label.

BrianSharpe

So there are no sugars listed in the ingredients or calories listed in the nutritional information panel? (I don't make bread frequently but pretty much every recipe I've ever used has called for sugar or honey)

The problem isn't hidden ingredients it's consumer awareness.

(BTW It's not just a US problem.........)

lauren3101

Tbh I think the portion sizes have a lot to do with it.

I have a friend that recently moved over here and he said our large McDonalds is like your medium size.

AlabasterVerve

I was just talking to someone from the Netherlands about this the other day. It seems the junk food is all the same but their staples aren't as adulterated as they are here. "Real food" is still readily available and the food laws are stricter and geared more towards the public good and not the corporations -- although that seems to be changing too.

mabelbabel1

So there are no sugars listed in the ingredients or calories listed in the nutritional information panel? (I don't make bread frequently but pretty much every recipe I've ever used has called for sugar or honey)

The problem isn't hidden ingredients it's consumer awareness.

(BTW It's not just a US problem.........)

I agree with the post above.

I think the problem is more to do with our own ignorance of what goes into foods.....sometimes people make simple but incorrect assumptions about foods, such as if it's savoury or low fat or labelled as good for you, that it won't have high quantities of things like salt, sugar or fat......sadly that's not the case.
It's not actually unusual for foods labelled as "diet" etc to have more calories from these ingredients in them than "non diet" foods.

The only way to be certain about what you are eating is to educate yourself and read and understand the nutritional information on packaged foods (the info is there) or make your own things from scratch.

We have to take responsiblity for ourselves......no-one else will!

IronSmasher

The UK is watching the US, taking notes, entirely aware of the issues, yet completely failing to take any effective preventative measures.

Kap10

The US may suffer from this more than the Uk but we still suffer from hidden sugars, sodium and cals in processed food. Marketers are not putting in sugar and other flavour enhancements to develop a sale they are matching a taste to meet a desire. In America there is a tendency for more sugar to be added. There is a popular american pasta sauce which I launched into the UK and we had to reformulate to reduce the glucose levels, so we still had added glucose (and starch) but not as much as was needed in the US to meet the consumers taste requirements. The best option would always be make your own then you would not have any hidden flavour enhancers.

Jemmuno

If you go to bbc.co.uk and look at their health section or search for obesity article there are tons of them! The UK is facing an obesity problem just as big as the US and I'm sure they're not the only country either. The UK also has many TV shows associated with weightloss and obesity as well (supersize vs. superskinny for example).

EvgeniZyntx

So I know that when Europeans think of Americans they think "FAT" but not all of it is entirely our fault. My mother (from Ireland) visited me a few years ago and remarked that our bread was sweet. Even our plain white bread hs sugar in it.
Is this only a US problem?

Rude voice: Who held a gun to your head?
(Ok, I'm kidding, mostly.)

This is not only a US problem - I have been all over the world and obesity is on the growth everywhere. The issue is only partially added sugars and fats but also portion control and food availability. Americans do tend, as a nation, to eat less formally than a lot of other places - eating while walking, etc. While the French or Italians (for example) tend to have more sit-down meals. All this is changing, of course.

I'm originally, at least partially, from Mexico and have worked in LatAm a lot. I can tell you that obesity in Mexico, Brazil, etc. is not something new and is a major health issue.

Here in France (and also Germany), I have a huge farmers market 3 days a week within 200 m. Last time I was in Chicago, I had 4 - 24 hour supermarkets/convenient stores within 5 miles. One you walk to, the other you drive to. Quality and types of food are quite different. Modes of transportation, calorie rich food all take their toll.

And yes, adding sugar to basic bread types is actually illegal for certain classified bread types in a least 7 European nations.
But a baguette is a baguette and I certainly gained my weight (40 extra lbs) in Europe and while travelling. Quanity and calories affect us all. Alas. Pain au chocolate .... :sad:

One of the things that I find consistently disappointing on this site is the number of people that piss on cardio exercise. "not good for weight loss" - seriously, one of the reasons Europeans are able to maintain a more reasonable weight, IMHO, is that the use of public transportation always requires walking and walking, cycling are just much more present as common modes of getting from A to B. 40% of the Germans bike once a week or more, the Dutch is even higher. And the US? 4% or so, if I remember correctly. This level of activity helps keep the nations girdle tighter.

The other thing that you will see less, but is still present elsewhere in the world, is the extent of Level III+ Obesity.

Finally, obesity in developing country tends to often be rising with an interesting demographic that can be shorthanded to "poor men, rich women" problem -- see: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/12/940.pdf.

pkw58

Well, hidden no more if you read labels. Well hidden if you eat out a lot. Seriously, we should teach fitness in every school in america. Not dodge ball.

We get fat because food is readily available and we make it our hobby. Fitness should be just like brushing our teeth. I used food like a security blanket. I am working on it everyday now for the rest of my life.

And I am well traveled. I would say obesity is much like drug addiction. It crosses all boundaries.

Amberonamission

Food here is much more salty than food I have had in other countries. To go even further. Food is more salty here in the southern part of the US than it was out West or in NY.

I don't see it as hidden tho. All you have to do is read a label.

LadyVeng3ance

Everythings bigger in America right?
I watched this documentary called supersize me, and well the 30 day results speaks for themselves. I dont think it is all americans faults that they are huge, I do believe you can also blame the system. Alot of the kids in school, they eat garbage food, frozen prepared food which contains so much unhealthy, and no vegetables or fruit. Just chocolate, cake and soda. Now, they may have a healthy choice as well, but we have to be real.. What 10 year old would choose a carrot over a cake??
And I never watched this show, but I know the british chef Jamie Oliver had a show about helping schools in america offer up more healthy meals, and he met incredible amount of resistance from both staff and parents, he was even kicked out of some schools.

I live in Norway, we only have mcdonalds and burger king here, and nobody ever eats there often. It is rare to see a truly fat person actually.
And on a side note white bread does contain sugar everywhere, and white bread never has or never will be healthy. If you wanna eat bread, you have to eat the brown kind, with loads of seeds and the healthy kind of wheat and etc. Im sure if you read all the labels carefully, you will be able to find loads of healthy foods in the supermarkets!

elizak87

I must say while I am often amazed by the range of diet foods and protein shakes the Americans here have access to, I am also blown away by the range of junk! There seems to be so much sweet food, so much sodium and so much fat. We have recently had 'lolly' stands popping up. There is food I have never seen. Blue fanta, peanut butter m&ms and pop tarts in flavours I didn't see in the few years they were normal in a store. Your portion sizes at fast food places are out of this world. Your range of fast food chains is mind blowing. Do you really have fries at subway?? I have never known what candy corn was before joining here. And why is peanut butter in everything?!? I am amazed at how many reciepes on here are sweet. I don't think it is just an american issue but I don't think you make it easy on yourselves

Antlady69

It's definitely not just a US problem. All countries are facing an obesity epidemic, if the people are rich enough to buy enough food and imitate the Western lifestyle. I saw in a documentary that children from wealthy Chinese families are seriously obese (he was addicted to McDonald's).

An American friend told me that when he visited Germany ca. 20 years ago, he hardly ever saw anyone fat. When he came back ca. 5 years ago, he was very surprised at seeing so many overweight Germans.

It's true what zyntx said BUT we too are using more and more processed foods, and fast food places McD's, BK, Subways etc. are heavily pushing their products, so a lot of our youngsters are going there instead of eating 'real' food. Plus, they now sell Oreos, Butterfinger and all the other American candies over here in addition to what's already on the market from local companies. So there's more cheap candy to choose from, and the bigger the choice, the more people seem to choose. Give them just 2 options, and they choose one. Give them 10 options, and they take 8 or 9. And get fat.

But somehow I think it's a natural process. Even without McD's, BK etc., people are drawn towards fatty foods like pizzas, pasta in cream sauces, Döner Kebaps, and so on. The most popular food in Germany isn't German, it's a Döner (Turkish)! *yummy!*

Maybe our animal brains just haven't evolved quite as much as we'd like to think.

rml_16

So I know that when Europeans think of Americans they think "FAT" but not all of it is entirely our fault. My mother (from Ireland) visited me a few years ago and remarked that our bread was sweet. Even our plain white bread hs sugar in it.
Is this only a US problem?

You can't make bread without sugar (or some form of it). The yeast needs it to feed off of.

The sugar and fat in our food isn't "hidden." Just read labels.

Antlady69

BTW, HBO did a highly interesting documentary called "The Weight of the Nation", highlighting the reasons why good food so often isn't available (often but not only related to poverty). It's on YouTube. If you have a little time, I highly recommend you watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hbo+weight+of+the+nation&oq=hbo+weight+&gs_l=youtube.3.0.0l6.1347.3198.0.4899.11.10.0.1.1.0.172.950.4j6.10.0...0.0...1ac.1.xIuhfNhu9aU

geebusuk

Americans do seem to do more stuff 'sweet' than in the UK.
Think bacon is the obvious example - sure you might get a 'maple cure' bacon or something, but it's not nearly as common for the meat to have added sugar as it seems it is in the US.

Oh and yes, McDonalds is tiny over here. Not sure why, but means while one of their burgers may fit in to my restricted diet, it doesn't satisfy at all.

I watched this documentary called supersize me, and well the 30 day results speaks for themselves. I dont think it is all americans faults that they are huge, I do believe you can also blame the system

Now go watch 'fathead', also a 'documentry', same premise but with the exact opposite result. The difference - the presenter hasn't worked out a plan to get fat, but the opposite and still manages it just fine.

Arexxx

I live in Australia, but I've traveled to parts of Asia and their food certainly has a different taste. The bread, milk, everything. Don't know if its the sugar or what.

And a friend of mine that went to the US recently said you guys have awful McDonalds :P

spersephone

It's not just a US problem, but it seems worse in USA and other Western countries (like here in Australia) are trying to learn from your mistakes. The fact that so many hidden nasties are in your foods has become more well known. USA tends to be ahead of the rest of us with bringing out new food products on a mass scale. The foods that you have are not all available elsewhere.

We are learning now about how we really should be feeding ourselves. As a result, some countries are managing to deal with it a little easier than in the USA, where it has become even more entrenched in society to accept and expect bigger portion sizes, maximum taste (which usually means extra fats and/or sugar) and satiety.

We have it bad enough here, but everyone is making the journey to become more educated about foods and their origins. We don't have anywhere near as many processed, ready meal type foods, so the job of cleaning it all up is somewhat simpler.

I'm sorry you're the scapegoats, but someone has to be, it's good that it's become a worldwide issue before it got too out of hand across the globe.

bathsheba_c

The bigger issue is that we're genetically wired to want to get fat, which is why our brains reward us for eating sugar and fat and for eating to the point of feeling stuffed. So every country that becomes wealthy enough to afford to eat as much as it wants has an obesity problem, though the problem is worse in places with bad weather or no public transportation (limits opportunities for exercise).

melsinct

So I know that when Europeans think of Americans they think "FAT" but not all of it is entirely our fault. My mother (from Ireland) visited me a few years ago and remarked that our bread was sweet. Even our plain white bread hs sugar in it.
Is this only a US problem?

You can't make bread without sugar (or some form of it). The yeast needs it to feed off of.

I just had to point this out, as it is an old wives tale that, as a bread baker, annoys the crap out of me. Yeast does NOT need sugar to "feed." Most of my breads contain zero added sugar. You can add a pinch of sugar to see if the yeast is still active and hasn't expired but it does nothing for bread rising. For instance, a classic baguette would never, ever have sugar added (and would be considered quite the sin!).

rivka_m

The bread thing really annoys me because I don't like my bread to taste sweet. Luckily I live close enough to the border that I can get Canadian bakery breads in my local store. No sugar added.

Gramps251

So I know that when Europeans think of Americans they think "FAT" but not all of it is entirely our fault. My mother (from Ireland) visited me a few years ago and remarked that our bread was sweet. Even our plain white bread hs sugar in it.
Is this only a US problem?

You can't make bread without sugar (or some form of it). The yeast needs it to feed off of.

I just had to point this out, as it is an old wives tale that, as a bread baker, annoys the crap out of me. Yeast does NOT need sugar to "feed." Most of my breads contain zero added sugar. You can add a pinch of sugar to see if the yeast is still active and hasn't expired but it does nothing for bread rising. For instance, a classic baguette would never, ever have sugar added (and would be considered quite the sin!).

Thank you. You saved me having to write this.

Bottom line. In the US (I can't say about other places) we have access to such a wide selection of food. I can walk to the corner and buy nice dark, dense breads that have nutrition but I have to walk past the balloon bread to do it. Read the lables, don't eat wonder bread, stop using processed food and materials and for gods sake, stop driving through the fast food places. There is no conspiracy. The sugars and fats aren't hidden, they are writtin on the lables. We are making ourselves fat by making wrong choices and no one is forcing us.

fun_b

It's a huge issue in the UK as well. I find it quite scary because I remember being the only fat person at my high school. It feels like only yesterday but it was 15 years ago. Everyone seemed to think it was a big deal at the time and I felt so excluded.Sometimes when I walk past the same school, I see groups of 'Bigger' children hanging out and I think it must be nice to be them as it seems almost accepted for them to be this size. But it is really shocking to see how things have changed in a short period of time.

geebusuk

. I can walk to the corner and buy nice dark, dense breads that have nutrition but I have to walk past the balloon bread to do it. Read the lables, don't eat wonder bread, stop using processed food and materials and for gods sake, stop driving through the fast food places. There is no conspiracy. The sugars and fats aren't hidden, they are writtin on the lables. We are making ourselves fat by making wrong choices and no one is forcing us.

I am around 12% BF from a lot more - I've been doing it by eating processed foods, a fair bit of 'fast food' and I certainly don't like dark bread.
But I DO read the labels and so can balance the calories and choose stuff that means I generally take in less calories than I burn.

Gramps251

. I can walk to the corner and buy nice dark, dense breads that have nutrition but I have to walk past the balloon bread to do it. Read the lables, don't eat wonder bread, stop using processed food and materials and for gods sake, stop driving through the fast food places. There is no conspiracy. The sugars and fats aren't hidden, they are writtin on the lables. We are making ourselves fat by making wrong choices and no one is forcing us.

I am around 12% BF from a lot more - I've been doing it by eating processed foods, a fair bit of 'fast food' and I certainly don't like dark bread.
But I DO read the labels and so can balance the calories and choose stuff that means I generally take in less calories than I burn.

Cool. What you're doing is working for you. I think I was trying to address the issue of "hiden sugar" as the cause of obesity in, at least the US population. I was trying to say that you can read lables and see ingredients and nutritional information. That information is only hiden if you don't bother to look.

elizak87

Realistically guys it isn't like there is a conspiracy in the US where food companies are trying to make you fat by hiding sugars and fats. You're right it is on the label and ingrediants are on a menu. At some point you have to take personal ownership of what you put in your mouth and how much of it. They haven't removed fruit and veg from the country, it is about choice and not convienence. Most countries have fast food and junk food, you may have more of it but it isn't like there is no healthy stuff.

QueenofScott

Being on South Beach and avoiding added sugars, I have discovered it is difficult to find many foods that don't have some kind of added sugar.