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

spersephone · October 2012

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 · October 2012

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 · October 2012

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 · October 2012

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 · October 2012

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 · October 2012

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 · October 2012

. 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 · October 2012

. 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 · October 2012

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 · October 2012

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.

ferrytrip · October 2012

Thank you all for your input. Sorry to hear that the obesity issue is spreading. I just think it is sad that even if you start your day with plain white toast, there's sugar.

agidavis · October 2012

Iam originally from Hungary, but lived in Ireland and now in Colorado. I think the biggest issue here is that eating out is more affordable here then in Europe, and the hidden calories and prcessed food is part of nearly everyones diet.
In europe if you are poor you eat at home, here if you are poor you eat in gas stations and dollar menues. HUGE difference.

But it comes down to individual effort. It might be harder to stay thin here, but its just as easy to get fat here then in hungary or ireland. Also here we have all nations food, that is very tasty, in ireland there was only one mexican restaurant whre i lived and tasted like crap:)

firstsip · October 2012

I know this is a whole can of worms, but I'm surprised high fructose corn syrup wasn't brought up; in the US, this is generally the specific added "sweetener." The sugar content and sweetness of many processed foods in the US is due to this added ingredient, because it's cheaper and easier to use than cane sugar. It's very political for why it's used (corn subsidies; corn lobbyists; cheap, sweetens, etc.), and I know many things outside of the U.S. don't use it (I live on the border of Canada and go over very often, and I'm often surprised at the flavors of things, even ketchup, compared to the "US" versions). Most of my family is immigrants who go back and forth from Italy, and they're often surprised at the quality and quantity of food over here.

I know there's always the "HFCS isn't that bad" comments, but there is quite a bit of research out there saying it isn't. It doesn't metabolize the same way as other sugars. It doesn't trigger the same "full" feelings, and a recent study found that eliminating HFCS in the diets of patients with Alzheimers and Dementia (without altering any other medicine, diet, or exercise plan) had markedly improved conditions, etc.

EDIT: By the way, to make sure this doesn't spark strawmans; I'm fully aware HFCS isn't responsible for obesity. Everyone can read the labels, everyone can make their own food decisions. But to say it's not a contributing factor to decreasing health is another.

Lipstickcherry · December 2012

One thing I've noticed is how things have changed for me being in the Silicon Valley and the new law that restaurants must post their calories. Some restaurants are reticent to give this info...you must ASK for the special calorie showing menu sometimes. I am glad I don't like eating meat since the veggie burger is usually the lowest calorie thing on the menu. Staying below 1000 calories per meal is hard in a restaurant! No wonder they like hiding the menu. The restaurant I went to today with my mom and boyfriend was Mimi's Cafe in El Paseo in San Jose. They had the menu with the calories on it. I ordered a veggie burger, a Caesar salad and had decaf coffee. I also stole some of my boyfriend's potato chips. 494 Calories is what I managed to keep my calories at. I used to get sick all the time eating out (an upset stomach). Nowadays, I realize just how much I used to consume in oils and sugars eating out! And the processed lean cuisine meals I used to eat have so much sodium. I eat now a lot of veggies (mostly frozen veggies we stir fry) and that has made a big difference. I still eat bread but mostly wheat bread. And some fruit. Americans often treat our junk food like staples. I used to do that. I even think of frozen dinners are condensed junk food. I used to think those things were healthy, but the sodium alone was contributing to high blood pressure (mine is normal now).

wellbert · December 2012

Yet to total caloric content is on the side of the food item, so there are no excuses. Only personal responsibility.

geebusuk · December 2012

1000 calories for a meal at a restaurant doesn't seem too bad - for the 'average' person eating a healthy balanced diet and presuming they don't eat big meals for the other meals that day.
If we're looking at 2000 - 2500 calories burnt.
Say a 300 calorie breakfast, 1200 calorie meal 'out'; we're still left with 500-1000 calories to play with for a final meal.

One of my problems is that I can easily eat several 1200 (or way, way more) meals in a day.

Thankfully I don't have high blood pressure (do a fair bit of exercise etc, which helps I suspect), so happily eat lots of 'frozen dinners' as it works out nicely for calorie control for me.

louised88 · December 2012

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!).
[/quote

I make bread with a mix of white and wholemeal flour, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of bread soda and a half pint of buttermilk. (Obvs the buttermilk has lactose, but it's not like i'm throwing in spoonfuls of sugar.)

johloz · December 2012

I moved from the U.S. to Germany a year ago, and one of the major things I noticed is the difference in our tastes for food. When I get a pastry from a bakery here, it is far less sweet than the same thing in the U.S. Even Chinese food tastes much sweeter in the U.S. The average American pallet likes super sweet foods across the board. There are plenty of overweight Germans, but I think it may be more difficult to gain weight eating the same sort of foods than it would be for someone in the U.S.

Of course, culturally, most Europeans are more active than we are. They walk and bike a lot more than the average American.

Another factor may be that in the U.S. its not very expensive to go out to dinner, so poor people can afford to do it more. Over here, eating at home is signifcantly less expensive than going out for dinner. My husband and I can't have dinner out for less than 30 Euro. And that's just for 2 low priced entrees. If we go to a nicer place, have drinks, or multiple courses, that price can easily go through the roof. Dining out is more of a luxury than a regularity.

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

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