The Effect of Sugar Consumption among Faculty Members of Medical Courses towards

their Health

Patriz Nicole Rivera

Dianne Khyla Torreno

February, 2020
Introduction

The past several years have been marked by a growing awareness of the unsavory effects
of excessive sugar consumption. As of 2015, the World Health Organization recommends
reducing added sugar to less than 5% of daily caloric intake to lower the risk of unhealthy weight
gain and obesity. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that parents
should not feed fruit juice to infants younger than one year because of its high sugar content.
This advice reflects a growing body of research investigating added sugar as an instigator of
obesity and metabolic syndrome (a combination of risk factors like high blood pressure, high
triglycerides, high fasting blood glucose, etc. that increase the likelihood of cardiovascular
disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Other research has
examined sugar as a potentially addictive substance. However, the public is still flooded with
mixed messages from advertising, health organizations, and popular press about sugar’s impact
on human health. Unbiased scientific findings from the past several years have begun to help
clear up this consumer confusion. Sugar typically refers to a category of simple carbohydrates
that includes monosaccharides like fructose and glucose.

QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME: _____________________________ (optional)

Direction: Among the given set of choices, choose the letter of the correct answer. Encircle the
letter of your choice.

1. These days, sugar seems to be in just about everything we eat. Which of the following
foods should you limit your consumption of, for that very reason?
a. Fruits and vegetables
b. Cereals and crackers
c. Milk and plain yogurt
d. All of the above
2. If you want to retrain your taste buds and help yourself beat a sugar habit, you should
replace real sugar with an artificial sweetener in your coffee or tea.
a. True
b. False
3. On food labels, the amount of sugar is listed in grams. What’s 1 gram of sugar?
a. ¼ teaspoon
b. ½ teaspoon
c. 1 teaspoon
 d. 1 tablespoon
4. When grocery shopping, probably the best way to avoid foods with added sugar is:
a. Don’t buy from eye-level shelves
b. Avoid the bakery
c. Shop the store’s perimeter
d. All of the above
5. Do you eat processed foods, candy, cookies, or cake containing sugar or any other
sweetener?
a. Yes
b. No

Direction: Please check and rate yourself honestly based on what you actually do given the
statements using the following scales:

5 – always 4 – often 3 – sometimes 2 – rarely 1 – never

5 4 3 2 1

1. I eat sugary foods on a daily basis.

2. When selecting foods, I usually check the sugar-related

nutrition facts on the wrapper before buying them
3. To reduce sugar intake, I try not to eat sugary foods
4. When eating bread, I put jam or cream cheese on it
5. Instead of drinking regular milk, I frequently drink flavored
milk (banana flavored, chocolate milk, etc
6. I frequently drink soda instead of water.

7. I pay attention to the sugar content in the foods or drinks I

am consuming.

8. I frequently drink fruit juices instead of eating fresh fruits