This chart was posted on Jamie Oliver’s  Space Coast Food Revolution Day’s FB page. I cringed as I saw this. In just 180 days,  a typical child will consume 9.5 lbs of sugar if they drink just two sugary beverages a day. This does not include the cookies in their lunchboxes or on their lunch trays, and it doesn’t include the candy bars from the vending machines as an afternoon “snack”. The saddest truth is that this is a result, for the most part, of parents who are either ignorant or apathetic when it comes to their children’s diets. While we can’t be there for every food choice they make, we can make sure our homes are stocked full of nutritious foods and that we set the example by making  wise and healthy choices. Here are some more facts:

• Type 2 Diabetes (on the rise due to obesity) is difficult to control in children
• One-third of school-aged children are overweight
• Children’s obesity can be controlled by cutting portion sizes and  carbohydrates (especially those simple, empty carbs!)

If you have not yet seen the 60 Minutes segment titled “Is Sugar Toxic?”, take the 20 minutes or so to see the research that is being done to see to the effects of a high-sugar diet. It is educational and eye-opening as to how our bodies negatively respond to this processed substance.