Link mainly driven by higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and frozen desserts
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Sugar consumption is positively related to temperature, mainly driven by increased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and frozen desserts, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in Nature Climate Change.
Pan He, Ph.D., from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues used individual transaction-level data for U.S. households in 2004 to 2019 to examine the effect of extreme heat on added sugar consumption.
The researchers found that added sugar consumption was positively related to temperature, notably within 12 to 30 degrees Celsius at a rate of 0.70 g degrees C−1 based on individual transaction-level data for U.S. households in 2004 to 2019. This was mainly driven by higher sugar-sweetened beverage and frozen dessert consumption. Among households with lower income or education levels, the magnitude of this impact was larger. A substantial increase in added sugar consumption of 2.99 g per day is projected by 2095 (or equivalently 5 degrees Celsius warming level), with an even higher risk for vulnerable groups.
“These findings underscore the urgent public health implications of climate-induced dietary changes, especially for low socioeconomic groups and particularly during warmer temperatures,” the authors write. “The USA needs to further strengthen its policies aimed at reducing the intake of added sugars, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, in the context of climate change.”
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