Sugar and sweet consumption have been popular and intrinsic to Indian
culture, traditions, and religion from ancient times.
T In this article, we review the data showing increasing sugar consumption in India,
including traditional sources (jaggery and khandsari) and from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).
Along with decreasing physical activity, this increasing trend
of per capita sugar consumption assumes significance in view of the high tendency for
Indians to develop insulin resistance, abdominal adiposity, and hepatic steatosis, and the increasing “epidemic” of type 2 diabetes (T2DM)
and cardiovascular diseases.
Importantly, there are preliminary data to show that incidence of obesity and T2DM could be decreased by increasing taxation on SSBs.
Other prevention strategies, encompassing multiple stakeholders (government, industry, and consumers),
should target on decreasing sugar consumption in the Indian population. In this context,
dietary guidelines for Indians show that sugar consumption should be less than 10% of tot,*al daily energy intake,
but it is suggested that this limit be decreased.
1. Introduction
The most popular sweetener in the world, sugar, was invented in India. There is reference to sugarcane cultivation and the preparation of sugar in an Indian religious text, the Atharva Veda. The word sugar is a derivative of “sarkara”, meaning gravel in Sanskrit. Sugar became known to the world when the army of Alexander the Great came to India in 327 BC. Interestingly, they were surprised to see another alternative to honey to sweeten food, and described it as a “reed that gives honey without bees” [1].
Traditionally, any occasion in India is celebrated with intake of sweets. Also, it is customary to “sweeten the mouth” after every meal, any joyous occasion, religious festival, social gathering, etc. It is considered mandatory to offer sweets to the gods on every religious occasion (e.g., it is believed Lord Ganesha, who is worshiped first in all religious occasions, is fond of ladoos (made by frying a batter of gram flour and ghee in small pearl-size drops and then mixing with sugar syrup, this mixture is given a round shape). Indian religious offerings mostly contain five amrits (elixirs) like milk, curd, ghee (clarified butter), honey, and sugar; these indicate the importance of sugar not only as a food item but also as intrinsic to the Indian way of life. While sugar is of considerable cultural and hedonic relevance in India, nutritionally it provides only “empty” calories (1 g of sugar gives 4 kcal). It lacks the natural minerals which are present in the beet root or sugarcane.
There is a strong relationship between calorie intake and obesity. In India, the prevalence of obesity is increasing at a rapid pace (Figure 1) due to an increase in energy intake owing to increased purchasing power and availability of high fat, energy-dense foods, along with reduction in the energy expenditure consequent to urbanization and mechanization [2,3]. Parallel to the rise in overweight and obesity, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is also increasing in India, and has reached epidemic proportions. India has more than 65 million diabetics, second only to China worldwide (Figure 2) [4].
. 2014 Dec 22;6(12):5955–5974. doi: 10.3390/nu6125955
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