It’s about calories and energy balance
Last week in Los Angeles, I testified before a joint hearing of the California Senate Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes and the Senate Health Committee. The hearing was convened to explore the alleged link between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity and diabetes. There were several main points in my testimony:
First, energy balance is of paramount importance. All calories consumed must be balanced by all calories burned through all forms of physical activity in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Second, data from the USDA show that all calories in the food supply have increased over the last three decades and calories from added fats and oils increased 73 percent compared with a much smaller increase (14 percent) in calories from all added sugars. Furthermore, the data also show that added sugars availability has declined 10 percent in the last decade, yet obesity continued to rise.