People Are Eating More Sugar & It Isn't For The Reason You Might Think
How often do you find yourself craving sugar? Maybe it's a little something sweet to finish off a meal, or a cookie or muffin to go with that late-afternoon latte. And when stress hits, sugar often feels like a quick fix by boosting the brain's "feel-good" chemicals and offering temporary comfort.
(Find out what it means if you're always craving sweets.)
But it's not just clever marketing from the food industry that fuels our sugar habits. A 2025 study in Nature Climate Change suggests that rising temperatures may also play a role. Ice cream and other chilled treats become especially tempting in hot weather, and researchers found that for every 1-degree Celsius (about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in temperature above 54 degrees Fahrenheit, people consumed an extra 0.7 grams of added sugar per person per day.
At first glance, that might not seem like much. Yet over weeks, months, and years, the added sugar can accumulate, especially as the United States records more sweltering summers and warmer seasons. And some groups are more vulnerable to this sugar increase than others.
Lower income and less educated households consume more sugar in warmer temperatures
The study shows that climate change not only disrupts weather patterns and wildlife but also influences what people choose to eat. Households with lower incomes and less education appear to be more affected by rising sugar consumption than wealthier or more educated households. For example, families making less than $25,000 a year are projected to increase their added sugar intake by about 4.9 grams per day by 2095. People without a college education are expected to consume about 3.5 more grams of added sugar as temperatures rise in the coming decades.
(How much heat can the body handle in the summer?)
In contrast, households earning more than $100,000 a year or led by someone with a college degree showed little to no change in sugar consumption as the temperature went up. The researchers suggest that these groups may rely more on water or other healthier drinks to stay cool, and they are also more likely to have consistent access to air conditioning. The study uncovered another interesting pattern. Once temperatures climb above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), sugar intake levels off or even decreases slightly, possibly because extreme heat suppresses appetite.