Sugar Consumption: Eye of the Beholder

Anyone who has tried to cut back on sugar knows it’s difficult, whether it’s because they have a sweet tooth, need the boost or simply can’t weed it out of all the surprising places it shows up in our diets (tomato sauce, whole grain breads, wheat flakes, low-fat yogurt, etc. etc. etc.). Guidelines have it that you should keep sugar consumption below 50 grams a day…that’s about 1/4 of a cup or 10 teaspoons of the white stuff.

But apparently most of us think we’re doing better than the other guy. According to Ipsos, 55% of Americans say they consume more than the recommended amount, but estimate that 65% of Americans do the same. In France, the gap was nearly 30%. Respondents from China, Turkey and Brazil were the most even-handed in their estimation of others.