Hidden Sugar Case Study

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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, & SOCIETY 100
A Case Study on the Consumption of

Food Incorporated with Hidden
Sugars
BS PSYCHOLOGY 1A
Group Members:
ACQUIAT, CELINE
CORUNA, HILARY P.
GUNHURAN, ARWAH K.
KOH, JEANNIE D.
SAPPII, MARIE CHARLIZE
SANTIAGO, LYSA JOY
Date of Submission:
12 DECEMBER 2019
This study source was downloaded by 100000805964056 from CourseHero.com on 03-10-2022 19:57:23 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/54139001/CASE-STUDYdocx/
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I. INTRODUCTION
According to Herwig Natmessnig (2017), 80% of packaged food contains added sugar, which
makes it a pretty difficult substance to avoid in consumption of food that we eat in our daily
lives. Sugar has been used as a based ingredient for centuries for the purpose of enhancing
flavors in many foods we are expecting to be in such as baked goods, candies, cookies and a lot
more. However, various foods have more and more hidden sugars added to them over decade to
make them tastier and to ensure that the consumers will keep coming back and buying more and
the demand of the production of these foods will increase.
Sugar is the general name given to the short-chain carbs that give your food a sweet taste.
However, sugar has many different forms and names such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose while
other term for sugar are hardly identifiable with just one look. For examples of types of sugars
are; dry sugar [malt, brown sugar, buttered sugar, cane juice crystals, coconut sugar, corn
sweetener, ethyl maltol, maltodextrin, panela,…] and syrups such as agave nectar, carob syrup,
honey, molasses and a lot more. Still, some food manufacturers pour sugar into foods that aren’t
always considered sweet and examples of these are breakfast cereals, spaghetti sauce and even
one yogurt cup can contain as many as 29 grams which is equals to 6 teaspoons of sugar. Food
manufacturers often take advantage of this. To make their products appear healthier, some use
smaller amounts of 3 to 4 types of sugar in a single product. These sugars then appear to further
down on the ingredients list, making a product look low in sugar even if the sugar is one of its
main ingredients. (West, 2019)
Sugarcane is grown in 17 provinces in the Philippines that is distributed in 8 regions from

Northern Luzon [Isabela & Cagayan] to Mindanao [Bukidnon, Cotabato, & Davao]. It occupies a
total land area of 422,384 hectares. 12 out of 28 operational sugar mills are located in Negros,
Panay, Leyte, and Cebu, producing 56% of raw sugar and 20% of production in Tarlac and
Batangas and another 24% of raw sugar production in Bukidnon. Cultivating these areas are
62,000 farmers that yields in an average of 57 tons per hectare. The 28 sugar mills operate at
66% capacity, giving an average recovery of 1.8 bags or ton cane wherein one bag is equals to 50
kilograms, which is low considering the sugar recovery of 2.4 bags in more efficient mills. There
are also 14 sugar refineries and 4 bioethanol distilleries producing 25% of mandated ethanol
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market. Raw sugar production averages 2.2 to 2.4 million metric tons per year. Close to 700,000
Filipinos are directly employed in sugar production, and about 5 to 6 million more are indirectly
employed, representing close to 7% of the country’s population. (Mendoza, 2019)
II. BODY
3.1 KEY ISSUES [PROBLEMS]

The focus of the data gathering for this case study is on the low awareness level of consumers
about the hidden sugars they intake from the food that they eat and the increase of daily
consumption rate and production of sugar-based products that can be a risk on health can cause
sickness and diseases such as diabetes and heart disorders to individuals and even in the society
and its impacts to people’s psychological aspects in pursuit of their pleasure or happiness in life.
3.2 ASSUMPTIONS
Researchers implied that most of the foods we perceived to be healthy may not be healthy at all
if its not collected directly from its natural source. Some would contain hidden ingredients like
trans fats which the body can have a hard time breaking it down into pieces as well as artificial
colorings and preservatives. But most of all, is the sugar- which is the most common ingredient
to put into the foods to increase flavor.
Researchers also thought of the nutritional facts in the package which states that it/’s “contains
whole grain”, “excellent source of calcium”, “fat free” , “100% juice” and “25% less sugar”
does not mean it would not contain a shocking amount of sugar. And just because of the brand or
product name sounds its good for weight loss we can already assume the food is lower in sugar.
Lastly, researchers also believe that consumers try to avoid sugar in food but fail because of the
production in the companies that is wiser to disguise the sugar in their products. Basically, its all
about selling their products without trying to avoid the risk that it could bring to their consumers
such as metabolic disorders, liver problems, cancer, and even weight gain.
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3.3 DATA ANALYSIS

Sugar consumption in the United States has been on the rise in the past decade. Between 2018
and 2019, Americans consumed about 11 million metric tons of sugar, up from about 10 million
metric tons in 2010. Sugar is generally derived from two distinct crops, sugar cane and sugar
beets. The United States grows both crops in large amounts. In 2018, about 35 million tons of
sugar cane were grown and harvested in the United States. The two U.S. states with the highest
production volume of sugar cane in that year were Florida and Louisiana. In that same year,
about 33.14 million tons of sugar beets were produced. (Shahbandeh, 2019)
Graph representing the sugar consumption in the United States from 2009 to 2010 until 2019 to 2020 in million metric tons
In the United States, the average person consumes more than 126 grams of sugar per day, which
is slightly more than three 12-ounce cans of Coca-Cola. That's more than twice the average sugar
intake of all 54 countries observed by Euromonitor. It's also more than twice what the World
Health Organization recommends for daily intake, which is roughly 50 grams of sugar for
someone of normal weight. (Ferdman, 2015)
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The good news for Americans is that they fare a bit better when it comes to fat consumption.
Belgium, where people eat 95 grams of fat each day on average, holds the distinction of being
the world's most fat-crazed country. Germany, where people eat 86.5 grams of fat each day on
average, is second. Finland, where people eat just shy of 81 grams, is third. And the Netherlands,
where people eat just over 80 grams, is fourth. The United States is 16th on the list, at 65.5
grams, roughly 12 grams more than the average seen across the 54 countries. (Ferdman, 2015)
3.4 PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE
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Researchers recommends that consumers must be well aware of the other terms for sugar and
sugar intake that they eat daily. Such healthy lifestyle, weight management, and balance diet
must be taken seriously in order to prevent risk such as diseases and disorders that worsens our
life or might lead an individual to their early death.
Consumers must eat variety of food every day to get the nutrients needed by their body. Eat more
vegetables and fruits every day to ger the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber for regulation.
Consumers can also consume fish, lean meat, poultry eggs, dried beans, or nuts daily for growth
and repair of body tissues as an alternative instead of preservative- based and ready-to-eat food.
Researches also thought of limiting the intake of salty, fried, fatty, and sugar-rich foods to
prevent cardiovascular diseases and individuals to attain normal body weight by proper diet and
moderate physical activity to maintain good health and prevent obesity.
Most importantly, humans must be physically active, make good choices on healthy food, must
able to know how to manage stress, and avoid alcoholic beverages and smoking cigarettes.
3.5 IMPACT OF PROPOSAL ON THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

The journey of humans towards living a good life in relation to the researchers proposed
alternative is that one must be aware of what they do or take in life. Everything is given to us
freely to see, observe, and take with us. It depends on us on how we use and manifest its power.
We must still regulate and maintain the use of it. It might be free but taking more from what we
need is a selfish thing to do and might be a risk to our lives.
In pursuing happiness or the living good – eudaimonia, one must have the wisdom and
knowledge to understand why things were given for free but can cause risk, one must be able to
behave like you are contented with what you have and behave like what humans that achieved
that certain point of happiness in life, one must be able to teach themselves the skills that they
can acquire in order for them to live a good life may not be better, but one of the best decision
that we can ever have, and lastly, one must be able to be generous to other, patience in life, and
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brave in challenges or struggles that they face because that’s what a person who’s living life with
happiness does. They are unselfish of what is free to take in life that we have.
III. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, researchers imply that individuals must be aware of the food they eat. Consuming
unaware of hidden sugars from food is taking a risk to our health. Consumers must manage their
calorie and sugar intake in order to maintain their healthy lifestyle. One must also have a regular
proper exercise and a balanced diet to improve their health and prevent from getting diseases. In
order for this to happen, we must take care of our health to live life good and with happiness-
eudaimonia by living a life by putting everything in perspective and does not only focus on a
single thing to achieve.
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IV. REFERENCES
Ferdman, R.A. 06 February 2015. Where people around the world eat the most sugar and fat.
The Washington Post. Retrieved from:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/05/
where-people-around-the-world-eat-the-most-sugar-and-fat/
Mendoza, T.C. 22 February 2019. Multiple Threats to PH Sugar Industry. Philippines Society of
Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved from: https://psme.org.ph/news/439408/Multiple-threats-to-
PH-sugar-industry.htm
Natmessnig, H. 23 April 2017. 7 Foods Full of Hidden Sugars. Runtastic. Retrieved from:
https://www.runtastic.com/blog/en/7-foods-full-of-hidden-sugar/
Shahbandeh, M. 09 August 2019. Sugar consumption in the United States from 2009/2010 to
2019/2020 (in million metric tons). Statista. Retrieved from:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/249692/us-sugar-consumption/
West, H. RD. 09 April 2019. 8 Ways Food Companies Hide the Sugar Content on Foods.
Healthline. Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-ways-sugar-is-hidden
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, & SOCIETY 100

A Case Study on the Consumption of

Sugarcane is grown in 17 provinces in the Philippines that is distributed in 8 regions from

3.1 KEY ISSUES [PROBLEMS]

3.3 DATA ANALYSIS

3.5 IMPACT OF PROPOSAL ON THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

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