Sugar's not only causing obesity, it's injuring your liver

Globally 2 billion people are overweight, says a study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, based at UW Medicine in Seattle.

The average American consumes the daily equivalent of 19.5 teaspoons of sugar.  Among the factors that influence obesity, sugar consumption plays the biggest role, said Dr. Judy Chen, a weight-loss specialist and assistant professor in the University of Washington School of Medicine. 

Processed fructose corn syrup, an additive in myriad foods often assumed to be healthy, such as yogurt and oatmeal, "can only be processed by our liver ... creating a scenario similar to alcoholism," Chen said. "Our livers are working so incredibly hard to process this specific type of sugar that we're really creating more and more injury to our liver."

Too much sugar causes bodies to create more of the hormone insulin -- which in turn causes bodies to store fat instead of burning it. The World Health Organization recommends women limit daily sugar intake to six teaspoons a day, and men to nine teaspoonfuls. Both of those volumes are less than that contained in a 12-ounce Coke. 

See downloadable video segment with Dr. Judy Chen.

 

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