MELBOURNE, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The current generation of Australians will be the first to have a shorter lifespan than the previous generation due to the rising threat of obesity, an expert has warned.
And the greatest cause of obesity is what the expert is describing as a "Sugardemic," an epidemic of sugar consumption.
Dr Rob Moodie, a health expert from the University of Melbourne, said that Australia was "in the midst of a Sugardemic" as added sugar in the nation's diet significantly eroded the population's health.
"The rise in obesity is seriously undermining our health, increasing the risk of numerous disabilities like diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke," Moodie wrote in a University of Melbourne publication on Tuesday.
"This generation of Australians will likely be the first not to live longer than the previous generation. What a legacy to leave our children."
Moodie said that Australians were consuming daily an average of 16 teaspoons of added sugar through products such as carbonated drinks -- rather than sugar which occurs naturally in fruit -- which is more than double the intake recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Added sugar is the new tobacco," Moodie said on Tuesday.
The annual cost of obesity to Australia has topped 6.5 billion U.S. dollars with two thirds of Australian adults and one quarter of children currently overweight.
Moodie, whose article coincided with World Obesity Day on Tuesday, said that an increased sugar intake was responsible for high rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, stroke and, most prominently, type-two diabetes (T2D).
"Almost 2 million Australians have diabetes, the vast majority T2D," he said.
"Someone is diagnosed with T2D every five minutes in Australia. The total annual cost impact of diabetes in Australia is estimated at 11.1 billion U.S. dollars."
The added sugar intake is most concerning amongst younger Australians, with teenagers averaging 20 teaspoons per day and half of Australian children suffering from tooth decay, costing an estimated 3.5 billion U.S. dollars annually.
Moodie, who launched SugarbyHalf, a campaign to cut Australia's sugar intake by half, on Tuesday, said that sugar-sweetened beverages were the major contributor to young Australians' high sugar intake.
"A typical small (600 milliliter) bottle of cola contains approximately 65 grams of sugar or 16 teaspoons -- more than double the ideal daily added sugar intake," he said.
