It’s not just about heat: the surprising way climate change is damaging our health through food
As temperatures rise, we tend to eat food that will cool us down, and certain summer snacks are being consumed more than ever.
We’ve been seeing hotter summers over the past few years - a couple of have been unusually warm in terms of the daytime highs, but what is really striking is that nighttime temperatures, which tend to drop, have also been increasing.
According to data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), record-setting daily high temperatures have become more common. Of course the methods of recording temperatures and compiling data have changed a lot and the climate is never completely stable, but a new report has looked into how more frequent balmy summer days are changing our eating habits. And the results are not good.
Extreme heat and sugar consumption
The study, led by Dr Pan He, a Lecturer in Environmental Science and Sustainability at Cardiff University and published in Nature, set out to show that “extreme heat may affect added sugar consumption through the increased intake of drinks and frozen desserts”.
Changes in climate affect the food industry in various ways - crop yields are dependent on temperature and rain, livestock needs to be kept healthy to keep prices low. So extreme weather can have a significant impact on food security.
Dr Pan He’s study set out to determine how climate affects dietary demand - especially in countries which have food and drinks with high sugar content.
It’s when temperatures start to soar that people crave something chilled - a cold beer, ice cream, fizzy drinks soda, juice... The research team looked at US household food purchasing data during the three summer months (June, July, August) between 2004 to 2019 and compared it with weather patterns over the same 15-year period.
Sugar intake and health concerns
It found that sugar consumption is positively related to temperature - and more so among people from lower income, lower educational attainment and certain ethnic groups, whose diets are sugar-rich anyway. For every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of warming, added sugar consumption increased by 0.7 grams per person per day.
This is concerning as excessive consumption of added sugar substantially increases the risk of obesity, various metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other health complications.
Dr Pan He’s study predicts sugar consumption could increase by nearly 3 grams a day by 2095, if planet-warming pollution continues unchecked, with vulnerable groups at highest risk.
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