Drinking one sugary drink is equivalent to eating 23 sugar cubes

If you walk 3 steps along the street, you will see a convenience store, and if you walk 5 steps, you will see a hand-shaken beverage store. This phenomenon is not unfamiliar to Taiwanese people. According to statistics from the Taiwan Beverage Industry Association, Taiwanese people drink beverages at least once a week, and the proportion of those who drink freshly brewed beverages is as high as 79.4%, and 69.8% of them drink packaged beverages from convenience stores. This shows the universality of beverages in our lives. However, more than 70% of drinks on the market are sugary drinks, and the sugar content in one cup of sugary drink is approximately equivalent to 23 sugar cubes.

The calories in sugary drinks cannot be ignored. One drink a day will greatly increase the risk of obesity. (Photo provided by the public)

A large-scale study conducted by Harvard University and published in the New England Journal of Medicine pointed out that sugary drinks can interact with genes that affect weight, causing drinkers to have a significantly increased risk of obesity beyond genetics.

In addition to this study in the United States, an 18-month study conducted at VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands also found that the group that drank low-calorie beverages gained an average of 6.39 kilograms, while those who drank sugary fruit juice drinks gained 7.36 kilograms, once again confirming that drinking sugary drinks can easily lead to obesity.

In addition to New York's ban on the sale of large drinks to combat domestic obesity, according to the U.S. South American news website VOXXI, Mexico, which has the second highest obesity rate in the world, has also recently followed up with policies to boycott junk food. The average person in Mexico consumes about 162 liters of beverages each year, which is considerable.

Sugary drinks are sweet and very tempting, making them very addictive. Coupled with the marketing strategies and publicity of many businesses, the sales of sugary drinks remain high. The harm of excessive sugar intake to the human body has also been scientifically confirmed. The only way to avoid the obesity crisis is to restrain your desires and replace commercially available drinks with boiled water, fresh natural fruit juice or sugar-free tea.