Sugar-Rich Snacks Are Worse For You Than Lack Of Exercise

We all know that exercise is good for us – and many of us feel guilty about not doing more. Regular physical activity reduces the risks of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers by at least 30 per cent. But, contrary to what you may have heard, taking more exercise probably won’t help you to lose weight.

Of course, that last part is not the message that the food manufacturing industry wants you to hear. When junk food and drink brands sponsor sporting events, they lead us to believe it is fine to consume their obesity-promoting products so long as we exercise. Most of us fall for this, even if just subconsciously. After a run or a workout at the gym, you may feel that you can eat something you know is unhealthy as a ‘treat’ (often laden with sugar) – that doing one makes up for the other. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t work like that.

In a recent editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, experts from Britain, South Africa and the United States argue that sugar and carbs, not physical inactivity, are behind the surge in obesity levels and that even hard-training athletes can’t outrun a bad diet.¹ They explain how public health messages about diet and exercise have been corrupted by vested interests. Celebrity endorsement of sugary drinks and junk food sponsorship of sport leads to a ‘health halo’ effect that makes people think these nutritionally deficient products aren’t so bad after all. And seeing them on sale in sports and fitness centres just confirms that misleading impression.

The junk food industry is a huge and powerful business machine (a bit like Big Pharma). It is focused on profits, not public health, so it has no qualms about sabotaging government efforts to combat obesity through reducing sugar intake. Just like the tobacco industry in the last century, its corporate marketing strategy includes denial, doubt, confusion and the association of its products with images of a healthy lifestyle. But the reality is that those sugar-filled goodies are destroying our health.

In fact, poor diet now causes more disease than physical inactivity, alcohol and smoking combined. And not just because it makes us fat. It has been estimated that as many as 40 per cent of people with a ‘healthy’ weight actually have the same signs of metabolic syndrome as those who are obese, including high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. The most shocking thing is that the number of children with this cluster of risk factors is growing fast.²

Don’t fall for the ‘health halo’ con

The sugar-filled products being pushed in association with sports are often referred to as ‘empty calories’ – but they are a lot worse than that. The junk food industry perpetuates the myth that you can simply use up the calories in a confectionery bar or doughnut by doing some exercise. What they don’t want you to know is that these products damage your health in ways that no amount of physical activity can reverse.

As I explained here, sugar is a major cause of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Ordinary table sugar is composed of 50 per cent glucose and 50 per cent fructose. While the glucose part is what raises your blood sugar level (actually a measurement of glucose in your bloodstream) and triggers insulin release by your pancreas, fructose has very different effects in your body.

Far from being the harmless natural fruit sugar that the food industry would have you believe, the fructose used in processed foods (high fructose corn syrup or HFCS) is a direct cause of insulin resistance, high blood pressure, furred up arteries, a fatty liver and excess body fat. For more details, see my earlier post here. The fructose present in fresh fruit doesn’t have the same damaging effects, due to the presence of other nutrients, plant chemicals and fibre.

So, keep on exercising and incorporate as much physical activity as you can into your everyday activities. But at the same time clean up your diet and don’t fall into the honey trap of thinking that because you are exercising regularly you will ‘burn off’ the ill effects of eating confectionery and junk food – you won’t.

On the subject of diet, are you still unsure about eating eggs and full-fat dairy products? Outdated official advice that these foods could contribute to heart disease has been discredited by recent research and, even better news, studies have now shown that people who eat these two food groups are at lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. I shall tell you more about this in my next blog post.

Wishing you the best of health,

Martin Hum
PhD DHD Nutritionist
for Real Diabetes Truth