)

In the article, Taubes correlates the increase in sugar in the American diet with an increase in weight gain. In 1986, according to United States Department of Agriculture analysts, every American consumed on average 75 pounds of sugar. In the early 2000s, consumption had increased to more than 90 pounds per person per year (Taubes 3). However, Taubes neglects to note that consumption of total calories have also been increasing -- of all kinds of food, of fat as well as sugar. Physical activity has also been decreasing. Furthermore, while Taubes dismisses the additional negative effects of the addition of high-fructose corn syrup to foods and the burgeoning obesity epidemic, he also admits that the addition of HFCS to foods during the 1970s is correlated with an increase in the body mass index of Americans. In short, when statistics suit his argument -- increased sugar consumption in general as...
[ View Full Essay]