The World Health Organization (WHO) says people around the world are eating more sugar. As a result, health problems related to weight gain and tooth damage are increasing. Sugary foods and drinks also weaken the bone.

The WHO finds that, on average, the amount of sugar in the foods we eat has risen about 10 percent over the past 10 years. But it has risen at a faster rate in some areas.

In the Middle East and North Africa, sugar intake (摄入) has risen about 15 percent over the past 10 years. In some Asian and Pacific countries, sugar intake is 20 percent higher. And in South America, people eat more sugar than anywhere else in the world.

Francesco Branca is director of the WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health. He said, “In South America, it is about 130 grams per person, per day, so much more than twice the WHO’s recommendations, but we also have some parts of the world where the intake is still low, such as in Equatorial and Southern Africa, where it is about 30 grams per person, per day.”

Mr. Branca says reducing the sugar intake can be difficult because so many cooks and food­makers add sugar. He says researchers found that 80 percent of the food items in the US markets included some kind of sugar.

The WHO is calling on governments to take measures to reduce the sugar intake. It advises taxing (对……征税) products with a lot of sugar and requiring food­makers to list how much sugar is added to their products. Another advice is to restrict (约束) marketing of sugary foods and drinks to children.

However, the WHO says it is fine to eat foods that naturally have sugar, such as fresh fruits, vegetables and even milk.

A dozen international coffee experts moved around a long wooden table, pausing at each steaming cup, heads dipping,smelling and tasting. In the wings, coffee farmer Yang Fan watches attentively as the judges’ circle, awaiting a decision on her latest crop of beans.

In recent years, China is fast developing a reputation as a top coffee producer. This tasting was a side event to the first ever Pu’er International Specialty Coffee Expo in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, which ran this winter and drew more than a thousand attendees, including industry aficionados (酷爱者) from across the globe.

“Coffee has huge potential in China,” says Liu Ying, who is working in private investment in Beijing to grow coffee in Pu’er five years ago. “The younger generation prefers to drink coffee in their offices much more than tea.” Still, Pu’er remains synonymous with tea. In a region of China known for thousands of years of tea growing, a new crop is beginning to change the country’s landscape: coffee. This town near the Laos border is surrounded by the green hills scored with tea plantations; it produces a variety of tea which is also called Pu’er. But the region’s mild climate is also perfect for growing Arabica coffee. And as China’s young people move away from traditional tea in favor of the invigorating coffee, Pu’er’s farmers are catering to the demand. Yunnan accounts for 98% of China’s coffee harvest, with half coming from the misty landscape around Pu’er. Today, China is the 13th biggest coffee producer in the world - rising from zero output three decades ago to 136,000 tons annually today.

In April, Seattle’s annual Specialty Coffee Expo decided to showcase China as its portrait country of origin. It follows on the heels of Starbucks’ launching its first single-origin Yunnan coffee last year after eight years of partnership with Yunnan farmers.

With global coffee prices at record lows, Yunnan farmers are processing beans in bespoke (定制的) ways to create distinct flavors -allowing them to enter the market of specialty coffee. “At current coffee prices, I can’t even feed my family,” says the farmer Yang. “My only way out is to produce specialty coffee, to make the best coffee beans.” That means letting beans dry in their cherries, thus producing a wild, fruity flavor, or allowing them to “honey” in their sugary inner layer, which adds a slight sweetness.

“If I told you this was Colombian or Panama coffee, nobody would argue with me,” says Samuel Gurel, CEO of Pu’er’s Torch Coffee Roasters, as Yang breaks into a laughter. “It’s a great example of how Chinese coffee is evolving.”

It seems school children all over the world complain about their school food. Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said that she would prepare a packed lunch for her son if school dinners do not improve. So what do students of your age eat for lunch at school?

Japan

High schools have canteens, which serve everything from noodles to rice, but not burgers and chips. Other children bring food from home such as cold rice balls, meat or fish, pickles and vegetables.

Students take home a menu for the coming month containing notes on nutrition value. Twice a year parents are invited to have a taste of the food. The class with the fewest leftovers at the end of the month receives a prize.

United States

A typical menu from a US school is made up of a hamburger with fried potatoes or roast chicken, lettuce and pickles, fruit and cookies. School lunches must also provide at least one-third of the daily dietary allowances(定量) of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium and calories.

Australia

Meat pies, sausage rolls and hot dogs are all traditional dishes in Australian school shops. But as the nation pays more attention to children’s health, healthier foods have started to find their way onto school menus.

Many schools have used a traffic light system. The sale of red-labelled foods, including pastries, chocolate and soft drinks, is served only twice a week. Healthier green-labelled foods such as sushi, sandwiches, corn and watermelon, however, are available every day.

In some schools, students have a choice of up to 89 foods to choose from, including popcorn and rice.

South Africa

Most of South Africa’s schools do not serve meals at all. Classes end at 1:30 p.m. and students get their own lunches. Many students bring food from home, usually sandwiches.

Fast food and fried food sell the best among students, which has led to a rise in obesity among children. But as more people began to realize the fact that being too fat may cause different diseases, some schools in towns have led the way towards better nutrition(营养). Now students at these schools are provided with lunches of porridge with vegetables, such as cabbages, onions, beans, carrots and tomatoes.