Comments on: Modern Diet Myth No. 10: Australian teenagers eat 40 teaspoons of sugar a day

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 12:04:18 +0000

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2015/s4442720.htm

Tsk tsk bill…how could you release a study with only 50% of the facts and call it scientific. Leaving out sugar groups is very naughty of you.

By: Gabrielle Maston

Gabrielle Maston — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 02:13:01 +0000

Thanks for the great post. I agree there is no need for sensationalist “documentaries” to get people to eat better. I would have liked to see a balance of experts who are actually nutrition experts. Fear tactics only work for so long.

The bottom line is, if everyone even remotely followed the Australian guidelines for healthy eating they wouldn’t be consuming as much sugar, trans fats or processed food.

Instead fad diets and fear mongering prevail and we end up back were we started. The quitting sugar craze is a repeat of the low fat craze. People find ways around the restrictions.

Keep up the good work!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 18 May 2015 06:15:49 +0000

Bill, you don't like my anecdotes and you don't like my science (I notice you have moderated/deleted my comment where I refer to scientific/nutritional studies)!! Fair enough! Truth is I am celebrating that Pete Evans (lunatic real food advocate) has such a loud voice (+1,000,000 likes on facebook) and that the Heart Foundation (preachers of low fat and moderation) is hardly making a dent (28,000 FB likes). Change is happening and people are starting to recover their health (as I have done) through 'radical' approaches like paleo and low carb/high fat. I'm happy to be a radical but want to know the underlying biochem and physiology. Personally I am turning my back on what to me is now non-sense like The Australian Dietary Guidelines, The Heart Foundation recommendations, The Cancer Council recommendations etc because I have found a better way. And I'm paving my yellow brick road with anecdotes (victories), cause (basic biochem and physiology) and lots of visits to the local farmers markets. I wish you well Bill! Chat Conversation End Seen Sat 8:50am Camera Choose a sticker or emoticon .. ..

By: Bill Shrapnel

Bill Shrapnel — Fri, 15 May 2015 00:27:13 +0000

Yes, the point is to get our children to eat better. But demonising one particular nutrient has never done much good and detracts from healthy eating messages. A healthy diet does not depend on what you avoid – it depends on what you eat. Regards, Bill

By: Bill Shrapnel

Bill Shrapnel — Fri, 15 May 2015 00:24:03 +0000

Hello Teresa. What success have I had? I don’t often think about it but I guess playing an integral role in removing trans fats from Australian margarines would count as a success. Our trans fat intake is now one of the lowest in the developed world. And being part of a very small team that developed and introduced plant sterol spreads to Australia would be right up there too. That one innovation effectively doubled the potential of diet to lower blood cholesterol. I am also glad that I was finally able to convince colleagues and policy makers that the total fat content of the diet was of little relevance to health and that the focus should be on the type of fat.

Personally, I haven’t been able to stop our population from becoming fatter. But as we deal with this problem it is important to consider the facts of the matter. The suggestion in That Sugar Film that we are all increasing our sugar intakes to high levels is just wrong. All lines of data available to us indicate that sugar intakes in Australia are falling. Focussing solely on sugar is repeating the mistake we made with fat. No single nutrient makes people fat. People put on weight when they consume more calories (from protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol) than their bodies require. That’s the message that we should be communicating. Regards, Bill

By: Teresa Rose Booth

Teresa Rose Booth — Wed, 13 May 2015 19:55:40 +0000

Bill, you have been in a position of influence from a nutritional point of view for how long?, and you have had what success?
We don’t need scientific data to observe that people and children are becoming fatter and sicker.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Wed, 06 May 2015 03:18:59 +0000

I am also a teacher Jenny, we had the children bring in the energy drinks that they have before and after school. We counted out the teaspoons in the class. One can of ‘V’ had 16 teaspoons of sugar! Many of the students reported having two of these a day. I have no problem with the number if they could get to 32 teaspoons that quickly. I don’t understand why you are arguing over the numbers anyway Bill. Isn’t the point to get our children eating better? This film is certainly having that effect on my class.

By: Bill Shrapnel

Bill Shrapnel — Tue, 05 May 2015 20:50:34 +0000

Hello Steve. I just don’t believe the weight increase in the first 12 days was due to anything other than the gross over-consumption of calories.
With this movie there are strong parallels with ‘Supersize Me’ wherein Morgan Spurlock overate McDonald’s food and put on weight and then blamed it on the QUALITY of food rather than the QUANTITY. That appeared to be deliberate misrepresentation and it would appear that we have something similar here.
When nutrition scientists conduct real studies and hold calories constant, weight doesn’t move, irrespective of the type of diet consumed. Regards, Bill

By: Bill Shrapnel

Bill Shrapnel — Tue, 05 May 2015 20:42:05 +0000

Jenny, I understand you are trained in science and yet you provide us with an anecdote. Can you support your beliefs with scientific data? Any scientific data? Regards, Bill

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 05 May 2015 11:36:37 +0000

As a school teacher of over 20 years I have no trouble believing that teenagers consume 40+ teaspoons of sugar. I remember being horrified when I started teaching that a few students started the day with Coca-Cola and a Mars bar. Things have got much worse since then and the consumption of energy drinks in particular amongst youth is also a significant problem.
I applaud those parents and schools who are encouraging a healthy diet and having some success but fear that they are in the minority!