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sheila I feature B were consuming only about a kilogram of sugar per year. In developed countries like ours, obesity is commonly hitting epidemic proportions and one of the most alarming trends is the increase in average weight of children. True, sugar is not the only culprit when it comes to our expanding waist lines, but it probably plays a bigger role than you realise. Stashed in foods ranging from obvious culprits such as baked goods to not so obvious hosts such as sauce and salad dressings, these days avoiding sugar completely virtually requires a bachelor degree in food chemistry. For years, dieticians, the sugar industry, the medical profession and researchers have failed to agree on whether sugar is really as scary as the hype suggests. There has been much debate on y contrast, in a world where sugar was not freely available, our ancestors the accuracy of extremely alarming research which suggests sugar feeds cancer cells and the jury is still out as to whether this is a serious concern. There's also a strong argument to suggest that sugar is an important part of a balanced diet, mostly because it is important for brain function. Most dieticians will tell you that you don't need to axe it completely, provided you can approach it in a measured manner. But now the debate has flared up again with new research recently suggesting that a diet high in sugar can damage our DNA and most alarmingly, this damaged information can be passed on to our children. The Garvan Institute of Medical Research's Dr Amanda Sainsbury- Salis told Channel Seven earlier this year that regulations are needed to control the overconsumption of fatty, CAN DAMAGE OUR DNA RESEARCH suggests sugar sugary foods because of the DNA changes that this type of eating causes. "Even if your children eat the healthiest diet in the world, they can have a higher predisposition towards problems such as excess weight, diabetes and atherosclerosis" she told Today Tonight. There's a groundswell of people who have realised that excess sugar consumption is making them sick. Former Cosmopolitan magazine editor Sarah Wilson tried to quit sugar and struggled, so she set about researching ways to kick the habit and published them in an ebook, I Quit Sugar. H control of sweet cravings, has more than 3000 followers. er I Quit Sugar facebook page, which she updates daily with tips and hints to stay in SHEILA MAY 2012 33