Until the 18th century, when the technology for extracting sugar from cane was developed, and 19th century, when we learned how to get it from beets, sugar was only available when the fruit ripened or the bees got busyAbout 12 percent o千禧平台f children aged 7 to 18 in the survey were overweightJudy Zhu / China DailyA 24-foot-tall pyramid of boxes marked "sugar" in the middle of Times Square makes a point that's kind of hard to ignoreThe world does consume too much "added sugar" - a term the USDA began using in 2000 to help people spot processed foods that have added energy with no added nutrition"Every country that has adopted the West千禧平台ern diet, one dominated by low-cost, highly processed food, has witnessed rising rates of obesity and related diseases," the journal Nature commented recentlyHigh fructose corn syrup, raw, brown and white sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses make up about 16 percent of the calories Americans consume and have zero nutritional value