Overweight and obesity are global health problems that affect more than 1.9 billion
adults who are overweight, and of these 600 million are obese. In the United States,
these problems affect 60% of the population. Critical to these statistics is the association
with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome
among other noncommunicable diseases. Many factors, including sugars, have been charged
as potential causes. However, obesity and overweight and their attendant health problems
continue to increase despite the fact that there is a decline in the consumption of
sugars. Sugars vary in their types and structure. From a food science perspective,
sugars present an array of attributes that extend beyond taste, flavor, color, and
texture to aspects such as structure and shelf‐life of foods. From a public health
perspective, there is considerable controversy about the effect of sugar relative
to satiety, digestion, and noncommunicable diseases. This comprehensive overview from
experts in food science, nutrition and health, sensory science, and biochemistry describes
the technical and functional roles of sugar in food production, provides a balanced
evidence‐based assessment of the literature and addresses many prevalent health issues
commonly ascribed to sugar by the media, consumer groups, international scientific
organizations, and policy makers. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that
sugar as such does not contribute to adverse health outcomes when consumed under isocaloric
conditions. The evidence generally indicates, as noted by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee, that sugar, like any other caloric macronutrient, such as protein
and fat, when consumed in excess leads to conditions such as obesity and related comorbidities.
More recently, the 2015‐2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended limiting
dietary sugar to 10% of total energy in an effort to reduced the risk of these