People are eating up to 46 teaspoons of sugar a day, four times the recommended maximum, hidden in processed food, US scientists claim.
Researchers say food companies have been consistently increasing the sugar content of their products to make them more enticing to customers.
And they warn that a high-sugar diet is just as deadly as a high-fat diet when it came to increasing cholesterol and adding to the risk of heart disease.
And they warn that a high-sugar diet is just as deadly as a high-fat diet when it came to increasing cholesterol and adding to the risk of heart disease.
The study, published in the April edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found many people were unaware of how much sugar they were eating.
Assistant Prof Miriam Vos, from the pediatrics unit at America's Emory School of Medicine, said the high-sugar diet was a silent threat because so much sugar was hidden in foods.
"Just like eating a high-fat diet can increase your levels of triglycerides and high cholesterol, eating sugar can also affect those same lipids," she said.
"Total consumption of sugar has increased substantially in recent decades, largely due to an increased intake of added sugars, defined as caloric sweeteners used by the food industry and consumers as ingredients in processed or prepared foods to increase the desirability of these foods."
The study looked at nutritional data and blood results of 6,000 adult men and women between 1999 and 2006.
The study subjects were divided into five groups according to the amount of added sugar and caloric sweeteners they consumed daily.
Prof Vos said: "The highest-consuming group consumed an average of 46 teaspoons of added sugars per day. The lowest-consuming group consumed an average of only about three teaspoons daily.
"It would be important for long-term health for people to start looking at how much added sugar they're getting and finding ways to reduce that."
The study was the first study of its kind to examine the association between the consumption of added sugars and lipid measures, such as HDL-C, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
The study did not look at natural sugars found in fruit and fruit juices, only added sugars and caloric sweeteners.
Assistant Prof Miriam Vos, from the pediatrics unit at America's Emory School of Medicine, said the high-sugar diet was a silent threat because so much sugar was hidden in foods.
"Just like eating a high-fat diet can increase your levels of triglycerides and high cholesterol, eating sugar can also affect those same lipids," she said.
"Total consumption of sugar has increased substantially in recent decades, largely due to an increased intake of added sugars, defined as caloric sweeteners used by the food industry and consumers as ingredients in processed or prepared foods to increase the desirability of these foods."
The study looked at nutritional data and blood results of 6,000 adult men and women between 1999 and 2006.
The study subjects were divided into five groups according to the amount of added sugar and caloric sweeteners they consumed daily.
Prof Vos said: "The highest-consuming group consumed an average of 46 teaspoons of added sugars per day. The lowest-consuming group consumed an average of only about three teaspoons daily.
"It would be important for long-term health for people to start looking at how much added sugar they're getting and finding ways to reduce that."
The study was the first study of its kind to examine the association between the consumption of added sugars and lipid measures, such as HDL-C, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
The study did not look at natural sugars found in fruit and fruit juices, only added sugars and caloric sweeteners.
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