Overview

• Analyzing 2004–2019 household purchase records matched to local weather, researchers found added sugar rises about 0.7 grams per person per day for each 1.8°F increase.
• Most of the increase comes from sugar-sweetened beverages and frozen desserts, with slight declines from bakery items, oils and raw sugars that suggest a shift toward chilled, hydrating products.
• The response is strongest between roughly 12–30°C with a marked jump above about 20°C, then it levels off above 30°C where data are limited.
• The temperature effect is substantially larger in lower-income and less-educated households, with sensitivity influenced by factors such as access to air conditioning, safe drinking water and outdoor work exposure.
• Modeling projects nationwide added-sugar intake could climb by about 3 grams per person per day by 2095 under high warming, with bigger increases in northern regions and in summer and autumn.