I saw the 2014 documentary Fed Up the other day which details the health crisis created by the sugar industry. And if you are able to see it (it is currently streaming on Netflix), it is such a powerful film. So much of what we are told about health and nutrition comes from people trying to make money, not from those looking to really help us lead long, fulfilling lives. This movie really exposes some truths about our collective worldwide weight problem, but also about how sugar in our diet is really killing us.
This movie brings up an additional point that is rarely talked about.
So the other day, I heard people talking about a colleague who eats whatever she wants without gaining weight. “How does she do it?”, they asked. “Gosh, she’s lucky”. Because, if a person eats like crap, but can still wear a small size of clothing, then there are no consequences to their bad diet, right? I mean, maybe it will catch up with them when they’re older. But that doesn’t really matter today!
Flash back to me in my early 20s. This was after I had started to go down in clothes sizes, but before I became the health coach I am today. A doctor took 20 vials of my blood for a medical study in which I participated. (Ah, the things we will do for money in our early 20s.) Well as the examiner was poking around like a vampire, trying to suck my blood for science, he commented, “Wow, I’ve got to go through a lot of flesh to get to your veins. You look thin, but you’re really fat.”
Wait…What?????
Well, I collected my 80 bucks for my role in medical history and went home. And in the back of my mind, I wondered, “How can someone be a “thin” fat person?” And since I looked good enough, I didn’t give it much more thought than that.
It wasn’t until I was earning my nutrition degree that I started to learn about the very prevalent problem of being “thin” fat. And unfortunately, diagnosing it isn’t always as easy as sticking a needle into someone’s arm. When a person looks thin but is suffering from a metabolic disorder, the fat is usually in very hidden places. This usually means layers of fat wrap around organs like the heart, liver or the kidneys. This can make someone high risk for diseases like cancer and heart disease.
In the movie Fed Up, examiners used MRIs to evaluate stomach fat levels for 4 school age brothers. One of the brothers was obese, while the other 3 were thin yet they were all eating similar diets. The test results showed that while the youngest brother had healthy fat levels in his stomach, the other two thin brothers had very high levels of stomach fat. And they did so while looking thin and healthy! Keep in mind that fat in the stomach is one of the biggest predictors of future disease.
So what can we learn from this ?
The foods most at blame for this health concern are hidden sugar in refined foods.
Most of us are eating so much more sugar than we realize. Even as a food coach, I realize that high levels of sugar creep into my diet while I’m trying to eat healthily. It is crazy how manufacturers will put sugar in ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING. They even put sugar in certain baby formulas. Why would a newborn need to be ingesting sugar?? If you can’t read the label on something, and you aren’t cooking 100% from scratch, assume you are eating sugar because you probably are.
There is no such thing as getting away with “eating like crap”.
People who eat high sugar, high junk food diets often suffer from the same health concerns that are usually associated with obesity. Fat wraps around their internal organs. To me, this sounds way scarier than having fat on my thighs. The bottom line is that a diet full of good quality protein, whole grains and fruits and vegetables with treats in moderation is really the only healthy way to go.
It is up to us to protect the next generation.
A baby can become addicted to sugar by the time they are 6 months or 1 years old. Even moms who breastfeed can inadvertently set up their child for fat problems because of the high levels of sugar in their own diets. We need to become vigilant about identifying sources of sugar added into foods and helping kids stay away from these foods in their very early years. Because, if a kid is eating a “healthy” turkey sandwich on sugar-filled bread, applesauce with added sugar, and a whole grain cereal full of the sweet stuff, we have a sugar addict even before we add candy and cookies into their diet.
Eating healthy shouldn’t be just about vanity.
In reality, fat surrounding someone’s internal organs is pretty ugly anyway. And we should really stop judging people who are fat because many thin people suffer from the same internal imbalance. I truly believe most of us have the best intentions for our own health. But taking the time to investigate what we are eating on a constant basis is the only form of protection we have against the big old sugar monster.
We can’t take full responsibility for this health epidemic. The food industry shares in the blame. Yet we need to be aware of the reality of what we eat. Nothing makes me more heartbroken than watching people try to eat healthy, but fail because marketers convinced them that what they were eating was helping, not hurting their health.
Erica my husband and I love exposes like you are mentioning with Fed Up. Will queue it to my list in Netflix. Sugar. Eee gads, the things I’ve read about the nastiness of it. Yes, in getting fat but worst than that things like the addictiveness of it. Earlier this year my husband was put on a 30 day detox diet. That’s what I learned about how everything EVERYTHING has sugar added. It’s making me feel sick just thinking about it. LOVE this piece!
It really is a shock once you start looking at labels. Most of us have eaten like this all our lives. It is a lot for people to realize that the sugar in food is a harmful when they this is all they know.
Erica, I recently heard a news report about hidden sugars in packaged foods – something like 80% of these foods has some kind of sugar added. That is pretty scary because we’re training children’s taste buds that they need sugar to have things taste good. You’re right that the food industry is all about money but when you consider the serious long-term health consequences you would think that this would be better regulated. Keep writing posts like these – they’re important.
Lenie, the movie Fed Up also uses that statistic of sugar being in 80% of food items. The problem with regulation is that, at least in The U.S., the food companies are funding the government. If politicians displease the food companies, they pay a price in their political career. And this is the true crime of it all.
Thanks to you and documentaries like Fed Up, I think some of us are finally getting educated about sugar. For example, I went looking for a fruit flavored yogurt in the grocery for a snack item. I consume plenty of plain greek yogurt in my protein shake every day, but I wanted something fruitier for my snack. NOT ONE of them had under 18grams of sugar! Crazy! Back to plain yogurt, with fresh blackberries:)
The craziest thing is that lots of people choose yogurt because they think they are being healthy. Yogurt commercials always depict a skinny person taking control of their weight and health by eating yogurt. People believe that it is healthy. And these processed yogurts either have sugar, or artificial sweeteners which is even worse.
You are so right about the problems with sugar. Both my daughter and I are thin – that doesn’t mean we can’t/don’t have the potential to get sick. My daughter is already trying to improve her eating habits (a little), and after my experiences of being unhealthy at a younger age, I am very careful about everything I eat (including few carbs at all – mostly brown rice and kasha). A lot of people don’t seem to want to talk about nutrition, so I say little.
I think thin people have a harder time getting off sugar than heavier people because they don’t really see the consequences of eating sugar. Good for your daughter for trying to kick the habit.
As nations, we consume far too much sugar. The sugar found in bread, cakes, scones and other carbs makes you wonder why people eat these on a daily basis.
I have decided to cut white carbs out of my diet for at least a few months. I would like to reduce my weight and eat healthily. I am on day 11 and feel so much better for it.
Eliminating processed carbs from your diet can be a challenge at first, but it is so beneficial for taking control of your weight and health. Once internal balance has been created, they can usually be consumed in moderation. But it is almost impossible to effectively lose weight while eating sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Tell me about it Erica, we consume way too much sugar from bread, doughnut, cake, scones etc. Its so scary!
I love the documentary and well done.
Thanks for sharing x
Yes, it is such a good documentary. I really recommend that everyone see it. It talks about the sugar problem in The U.S., but I think people can relate to it anywhere.
Agree with you completely about the dangers of sugar, Erica. It is the cause of more health problems than anything else. 70% of the population in the West without knowing it has candida that cause a lot of problems. Sugar is a major reason for it.
Sugar is hidden in most processed foods and wheat is actually converted to sugar in our stomachs. Bottom line we need to have a really healthy diet in order to avoid health problems.
Personally love cakes and chocolate so once in a while I have some:-)
Catarina, Candida is such a multi-layered problem. First you have the abuse of antibiotics and for women, the years and years of taking birth control pills, creating internal imbalance. Then you have sugar feeds the imbalance and then feeds the candida.
It was my birthday last week and I got this special, gluten-free brownie which I ate last night. It was so good, and totally worth it. It is fine to love sweets, and once in a while is perfectly fine.
A lot of what you’ve written here is a complete surprise to me. Never would have suspected that thin people can be fat. Not surprised though to find that nutrition advice might be compromised if it comes from someone trying to sell you something.
Most people don’t know that, Ken. And it is so important for those people to understand because people who stay think while eating lots of junk food just assume they have a fast metabolism.
I admit it, I am a sugar addict and have paid the price for that. The problem isn’t always in my weight, it’s other less obvious stuff that my doctor warns me about. I have found that All things in moderation requires and controlled consumption of sugar. I’m making progress, but it sure isn’t easy when I am a food writer and recipe developer.
Sugar addiction is an obstacle for many, Susan. It would be like overcoming alcohol addiction is alcohol was secretly hidden in water.
Just from a selfish point of view, I would love to see a dessert sweetened with fruit and whole foods. Just an idea to give you 1 week of development without sugar. I know it is hard to do, but many people like me really appreciate those recipes.
Fascinating and a little scary when I think of all the years I practically lived on fast food. For a long time I thought I was doing okay in the sugar free department because I don’t care for sweets and don’t even keep sugar in the house, but as you’ve pointed out there’s still a lot of hidden sugar in the foods that we eat. Thanks for the important reminder!
I’m with you, Marquita. I used to excuse the fact that I ate sugar since I ate so healthy otherwise.
I loved Fed Up- such an eye opener. It’s so hard to see skinny people and think they’re so lucky, but you can’t focus on them. You can only focus on you and your family.
It really is a good film. And yes, you can only focus on yourself. It is a hard lesson to learn, I’ll admit.
Great article Erica and a subject I have wondered about on occasion so thanks for the answers. I recently got Netflix so will check out the movie.
Wow! This puts so much in perspective. Especially for people I see who are thin for decades, and then suddenly gain a lot of weight very quickly in their later years. It makes sense now that they were never healthy and the fat was always there, and their body most likely reached a “tipping point” and could no longer maintain it’s thinness. I have always struggled with sugar addictions and been on and off sugar binges for years. This is going to make me think twice next time I feel I’m about to go down that road again! Thank you for sharing this.
This is such great information, there are times that when I find myself consuming to much sugar I feel lazy and low on energy.
Have you read Sugar Blues – William Dufty? an old text but well worth getting hold of. A terrifying look at the chemistry of sugar and the corporate greed which pushes it.
I’m sure I’d enjoy Fed Up so I’ll add it to my NetFlix queue. There is so much salt and sugar added to so many foods and it also skews people’s taste buds as well.
I agree with being thin is not about being healthy.
I do have some problems with weight, and how it is perceived. Being a bodybuilder, I am a big person. I weight over 270, 20 inches arms, 50 inch chest and a 36 inch waist. I am in the best shape I have ever been, I run several miles a day, and am in the gym for couple hours more. But, when I go to my doctor he looks at my height and my weight, compares it to a chart and tell me I am overweight not judging that I have low body fat.
I found this post so interesting, I’m definitely going to watch Fed Up! I’m thin, but I probably have quite a lot of fat because I don’t exactly eat healthily… Scary stuff.
I loved that movie. It really does reveal so much and is terrifying. It is shocking to me, when I go to the grocery store, the boxes of cereal moms are stuffing in their carts that are laden with sugar. And then when you look at the kids and they are definitely either obese or skinny as a rail, you just know they are not getting the best nutrition. Very enlightening article (and movie). I have been boxing for a year now, weigh more than I did a year ago, but my BMI is below 20% so I know I’m healthy. I don’t go on the scale anymore. It’s all about what I put in my mouth, how my clothes feel and how active I am (thanks, fit-bit!)
I’ve heard of “Fed Up” and also “Sugar Coated.” which I believe deals with the same subject, dangers of hidden sugar. It’s so important to be vigilant and read labels when grocery shopping, and also to use your common sense. I’ve stopped eating bagels (once a staple in my household) because of their ridiculously high sugar content. Scary stuff!
I’m absolutely getting this on Netflix. You opened my eyes to how sugar is hidden in product. I used to just look at the sugar content. And I never thought about how we processed certain foods before reading yru blog. Great information, thank-you Erica.
I started reading labels religiously when my husband had a heart attack in 2010. It continues to shock me how much sugar shows up in unexpected foods. I put many things right back on the shelf. It’s got to be one of the reasons obesity is such an American issue.
I didn’t know your husband had a heart attack! Glad he’s OK. But good for you for reading labels. Such a good practice.